This devotional is intended to be a guide through a time of reflective prayer based off of Isaiah 55.
To begin, please read all of Isaiah 55.
After you’ve read the chapter as a whole, let’s break the passage into four sections, taking time to reflect on each section, and to pray. The given prayer prompts are only suggestions; let God guide you as you interact with His Word.
1) Isaiah 55:1-3a – God’s Invitation
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
Prayer Prompt: God is the One who invites us in. Take a few moments to respond to God’s invitation to fellowship with you today.
2) Isaiah 55:3b-5: God is Knowable AND Historic
“I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”
Prayer Prompt: Our God is not some hidden, unknowable agent. He has revealed Himself to us, personally and throughout history. Spend a few moments to think through the ways that God has revealed Himself to you, both in this season and over the course of your life. And thank Him for that!
3) Isaiah 55:6-9: God is Transcendent AND Gracious
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Prayer Prompt: Our God is gracious and forgiving. When we come to Him with repentance, He “abundantly pardons”. God is approachable in His grace. And yet, He is also completely transcendent, above and beyond our understanding and capability. Take a few moments to adore and thank God, to revel in the fact that our God is both great and good.
4) Isaiah 55:10-13: God is Trustworthy AND Powerful, and He and only He is the Redeemer of His People’s Brokeness
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Prayer Prompt: Our God is worthy of our trust. His character is trustworthy to receive our pains, and His power is trustworthy to address our pains. He is the One who redeems all things for His people. Take a few moments to bring any sorrows or griefs to Him, and to praise Him for the redemption of those sorrows that He will ultimately bring about.
Reflection
As you think about this brief prayer exercise that you’ve just concluded, I’d like to invite you to think through two things:
- What do I need to remember or do based off of what God has shown to me?
- Is there someone I need to share with, or reconcile with, or encourage?
May the Lord bless and keep you. He is good.
TR Hartley 
Leave a comment