A Year of Prayer: Season One Weekday Devotionalsنموونە

In this chapter of Isaiah, God is speaking powerfully through the prophet Isaiah to the nation of Israel. God accuses them of covering up their sin, persisting in idolatry, soul-sickening behaviour and falsely continuing to perform acts of worship toward God, all while their hearts wandered elsewhere.

‘Stop with the shows! Stop with the offerings! Stop with the gatherings!’ God says. If you’ve ever had a pet, child, or person walk through your house with dirty feet on a clean floor and seen the muddy marks trailing back to them – in a small way, you’ll know the feeling! Stop! Stop right there!

Maybe you’ve seen or been part of a musical group where the tuning is out, the timing is off, or people’s attention is elsewhere. It gets progressively worse and worse, more and more noticeable - until the conductor yells, ‘Stop!’

Stop! Come back to the beginning. Tune up and tune in. Set the tempo again and take God’s lead. Let your attention be drawn fully to God’s presence and voice.

'Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.' (Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV)

When we allow God to take our sin and sinful behaviour in hand, when we are washed by the blood of Christ’s sin-atoning sacrifice, and when we obey the order God has for us of pursuing holiness - then the symphony begins in earnest.

Let us look to the author and perfector of the score.

Prayer: God, help me listen to Jesus. Jesus centred, spirit led, and hope revealed.

Action: Google the ‘sheet music’ of your favourite song, even if you’ve never seen it before or can’t read it. Look at the sheet music score as a work of art. Pray as your eyes range over it, and ask God to speak to you afresh.