“O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered, and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.” (Isaiah 33:2–4, ESV)
In the midst of Judah’s fears, they remember to pray. Their threat was a serious one as Assyria threatened and the nation foolishly attempted to build alliances with other foreign powers for protection. In the midst of this threat, a faithful remnant remembered their only hope of deliverance and they prayed.
How often do we follow the pattern of Judah and seek every type of worldly solution when we encounter trials of various kinds? This is the normal reaction of the old nature. Remember that before the Lord changed our heart, we did not truly consider God and His power. Yet after our salvation we still seem to struggle with the preeminence of God in every area and situation of life. We tend to act first and then pray when our actions fail. Instead, we should have prayed first and then acted.
Prayer is our response of faith. Only those who trust God will call upon God. The question is this. Why do we not call upon Him in every situation? Perhaps it is that we tend to trust in our own abilities and efforts first. This is truly a battle with the primordial sin of pride. This is something with which we will struggle throughout our earthly life.
What is our solution? First, remember that pride does go before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Realize our struggle with pride is real, and that it causes us to get the order of prayer then action reversed. We must consciously combat this problem of pride.
Second, develop a prayer-walk lifestyle. Prayer is not a church meeting and it should be more than an event that happens once a day. It should be a way of life. We can pray all the time. When we run into a situation we should immediately communicate with God, asking for wisdom and for Him to accomplish His will in it. We need not wait until the next prayer meeting.
Third, respond biblically to the situation. God will grant us wisdom and direction. His wisdom and direction will always be heavenly rather than earthly.
Fourth, wait and watch to see how God moves in that situation. Sometimes it may take a period of waiting to see how the Lord has answered the prayer. Often He is working in a way other than you have desired or anticipated. Remember that His ways are higher than ours are. This also takes faith.
Last, remember what God has done. When you clearly identify how the Lord has moved in the situation, learn from it. If Israel had just remembered the multitude of specific times that the Lord had moved supernaturally in their behalf, they would not have sought an alliance with foreign nations. They would have trusted God. Remember the great things God has done.
In this age, the church is the faithful remnant of God. We are a people called to walk by faith and not by sight. Prayer is the principle act of faith. Pray as a way of life.
Renewing the Heart 