All Things Are Possible
   Devotion for Friday , May 09, 2008
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Selection Taken From:
All Things Are Possible: Meditations on Biblical Prayers for God's Help by Daniel Partner

Scripture tells of many prayers--urgent requests to God for help. In All Things Are Possible, author Daniel Partner tells of devotional meaning in seventy-five of these prayers. Partner's insightful, accessible readings show that no human problem is unique and that God hears believers' prayers. Not only can the answers be miraculous--prayer itself is a miracle. While reading All Things Are Possible, Christians will see their own struggles in the prayers of biblical characters, be encouraged to lift their voices to heaven like the saints of old, and embrace Jesus' promise: "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NASB). This devotional employs various translations of Scripture. Soft cover from Barbour Publishing, Inc., copyright 2002

"DAY THIRTY-NINE"

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
And he said, Go, and tell this people,
Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
and see ye indeed, but perceive not. - ISAIAH 6:8-9

These verses record the historic moment when Isaiah responded to God's call. About 2,700 years ago, the year King Uzziah died (c. 742 B.C., 2 Chronicles 26:21), Isaiah was a twenty-five year-old priest, born among the privileged classes in Judah and Jerusalem. He prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Other prophets who were speaking for God at that time were Amos, Hosea, and Micah. These facts of history are interesting to me because they show that an actual man, a young man, had this most intense experience of God.
Isaiah saw God upon the throne in the heavenly temple with seraphim above, crying out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy!" The sound shook the heavens. Young Isaiah was devastated by the sight and soon felt heat from the altar purifying his lips (Isaiah 6:1-7). Then, as if God could find no human willing to help, the divine voice said, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
It is unlikely that you and I will ever experience such a thing. We live in a different age under the new covenant of God's grace. In Isaiah's day, God spoke through various prophets. Today, God's speaking is through the Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). However, we are like Isaiah in this way: We have responded to God's call. This may not necessarily be a call to serve in foreign missions or translate the Bible or be a pastor. More likely, it is the call to be a mother, a wife, a husband with a commonplace job and duty to children.
At some point in our life, we willingly accepted our calling, not knowing what it would entail in sacrifice and suffering. In this way, we are also like Isaiah. Only after he said to God, "Here am I; send me" did he learn that the people would shut their ears and eyes to him; they would not comprehend or be healed (Isaiah 6:9-10). So it is with us in our ordinary lives. We had no idea how difficult our assignment would be, yet we go forward, even reaching out in prayer toward the prize of God's high calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

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