Hi gang, and welcome back to “For Zion’s Sake.”  Once a month, using ICEJ’s Isaiah 62 Prayer Initiative as our guide, “For Zion’s Sake” is my encouragement to us all to be faithful prayer warriors on Israel’s behalf.  Here is the admonition from Isaiah 62:1:

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
    and her salvation as a burning torch.

Isaiah 62 contains 12 verses…one for each month of our Gregorian calendar.  Thus, for the month of July, our key verse is verse 7 (though we will pick up the first part of the sentence in verse 6):

You who put the Lord in remembrance,
    take no rest,
and give Him no rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes it a praise in the earth.

“Take no rest and give Him no rest…”  God’s Word tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), so as challenging as it may be, the two verses definitely exhort us to constantly pray.

However, let’s focus on what I think may be even more amazing.  The Lord God of Israel challenges us to “give Him no rest!”  He wants to be bugged by us!  In fact, I see similarities in God’s character when I compare this verse to Malachi 3:10 in which God tells us to test Him.  In both cases God seems to say, “Bring it on…and see if I won’t do something beyond your imagination!”  Friends, we’re praying to the God of the universe…He who created by simply speaking.  He is able!  Are we up to the challenge?

I believe Isaiah 62:7 teaches us to go to Him again…and again…and again…as often as it takes…until Jerusalem is a praise in the earth.  Let’s pray that way, entrusting the results to the Sovereign King, whose plans will be fulfilled.

Though we are encouraged to pray day-after-day-after-day, the Isaiah 62 Prayer Initiative brings prayer warriors from around the world together on the first Wednesday of every month to pray in unison for Israel.  Please participate in this worldwide effort tomorrow.  Click here to get involved.  If you are in the Phoenix area, join us at Calvary Community Church at 6:00pm (Room 301) on the first Wednesday of every month.

View Isaiah 62 prayer points for July here.