A Hardwired Faith

A LIVING SACRIFICE

When school shootings are commonplace, how do we live for God?

What does faith look like now?

When Faith Feels Different

Can you feel it?

An attack on our best and brightest makes us feel despair.

Relentless attacks make us feel forsaken.

Faith feels different when you see fear in the face of a child. An attack on our society’s most vulnerable can plant feelings of being forsaken in the hearts and minds of even the most seasoned of saints.

Demonic strategies like school shootings and our society’s response to them creates tremendous uncertainty about the future. It is the weariness from what seems to have no solution that depletes us. It is the call for protection and safety with no meaningful response that makes our skin paper thin.

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. ~Isaiah 62:1, New Living Translation

Isaiah the prophet was an influencer on a whole other level. He had the heart of the people and the ears of kings. Once young and insecure, now wise and immersed in his prophetic giftings, we see the seer get personal in chapter 62.

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying…

This personal declaration from a relevant and effective intermediary used by God to instruct leaders and inspire people. Yet, with all the access and capacity he had, Isaiah was adamant about what he would do to usher in change:

I will not keep still.

I will not remain silent.

I will not stop praying.

His first line of defense in the restoration of Jerusalem was not to schedule a meeting, take a phone call, hold a press conference or even plan a protest.

It was to pray.

Incessantly.

Relentlessly.

Without decline and with tears.

Without pleasure and in the face of pain.

And throughout the chapter we see Isaiah not only in the posture of prayer, but changing the dynamics of his prayer work from obscurity to action.

As I sit here pecking on this keyboard, I have to ask myself…

What is the status of my own prayer work?

Has my faith been hardwired for the challenges that come?

A Hardwired Faith

All the years I have studied this chapter, I have never viewed it through the eyes of Isaiah as a prayer warrior. I can think of no better way to close out the Living Sacrifice series than to follow his lead and unpack how we can hardwire our faith and live sacrificially through fervent prayer:

INFUSE PRAYER WITH YOUR PASSION

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: “I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine. Isaiah 62:6-8, NLT

God gives us the desires of our hearts. That includes the desire for change. What agonizes you should activate a relentless prayer life.

EXPAND YOUR COURAGE ZONE

Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see. ~Isaiah 62:10 NLT

A life of spiritual sacrifice is embedded in consistent and courageous prayer work on our knees and in our actions. Get out of your comfort zone and embrace your courage zone.

EXPECT CHRIST TO COME

The Lord has sent this message to every land: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’” They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.” ~Isaiah 62:11-12 NLT

Even when it feels like your hope is hanging on the Cross, be encouraged. It’s in good hands. Greater is coming.

Let’s pray…

Almighty and righteous God, God of Isaiah, God of our hearts, we call on you today for change. Change us. Ignite the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us in prayer and advocacy. Change systems. Like the broken walls of Jerusalem, repair what continues to leave us vulnerable to the enemy. Change communities. Bring us together in prayer, supplication, and action for the protection of our children and future. Change leadership. Convict the hearts, minds and hands of authorities to make the hard choices and see through the process of a better life for our children and future.

Like Isaiah, we pray for change. Hardwire our faith. Give each of us the courage to carry our own prayer mantle. Ignite within us the fortitude to continue on our knees and in our actions the prayer work we have been appointed.

We will not let go until you bless us.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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God Sees You.

Every weight.All of it.He saw your shame.He felt your pain.He knows it hurt then and still hurts now.He sees you even as you suffer.A Dream DeferredWhat happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?~The poem "Harlem" by Langston HughesSandwiched between the Harlem riots of the 1930's and 40's and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, Langston brilliantly pens the collective yet intimate hopelessness of a people whose aspirations of a new beginning never make it to term. Aaron, commanded by God not to grieve but continue his priestly duties after losing two of his sons due to an unholy sacrifice, understood living with a loss.Do we?The Father witnesses every trial we go through, paying special attention to how we respond.Do I drawer nearer to God's presence, or turn away in times of pain?Am I quick to take matters into my own hands, or let God be God?Elizabeth has me thinking...Lay Down Every WeightWhat seemed like a loss to others for both Aaron and Elizabeth became a dream deferred but come true when God saw them each press through pain for the sake of his purpose. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” ~Luke 1:25 NIVI wonder what could we accomplish if we worried less about views from man and more about how we are seen by God?There is a favor that awaits us on the other side of suffering and service, and it begins with God seeing us and how we wait:Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,“God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”?Don’t you know anything?

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Thank you.

~Philippians 1:3, New International VersionI cannot believe we are only 6 months shy of GOD 'n Me's fifth anniversary...What a ride!As we transition our days from the Thanksgiving season and into Christmas, I wanted to take a few moments to express my gratitude for you walking this journey with me. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 1:6, NIV It is Heaven's desire that each of us do magnificent exploits in the earth, so join me in the coming weeks as we close out the year with an intimate look at the relationship between words and divine destiny.I can't wait! And again, thank you for sharing life with me. May the coming days inspire us all to speak life into dead places, living as the voice of God revealed and not concealed.I love you, but God loves you more.PHILLIPA WILLIAMSAuthor | Speaker | Ministry CoachWe break cycles here.About PhillipaAUTHOR | NON-PROFIT FOUNDER MINISTRY COACH LOVER OF CHOCOLATE Phillipa Williams has dedicated her life to building God’s kingdom.

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