Praying for Righteousness - Isaiah 32-33 and Colossians 1
God sent great punishment and took Israel and Judah into exile, because of their complacency and their other sins. As God turned up the heat, Isaiah was calling them to repentance. He even shared God's revelations to him of great times of peace in the future. However, God was waiting for the sincere prayers of the people. I believe He was waiting for them to admit they needed Him to save them from their enemies, but He was also waiting for them to pray for righteousness. In other words, God wanted to see them admit their sins and seek to be right with Him in how they lived. Isaiah 33:16-17 shows us what God was looking for from His people. Our prayers must not be for God to do our will. Our prayers must be for us to do God's will and to be righteous before Him and others around us who need to see the Lord.
Colossians is a book packed with truth. One of the most precious parts is Paul's prayer for the believers in chapter 1 verses 9-12. His prayer was for the saints to be righteous. He prayed for them to have knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He prayed for them to walk worthy of the Lord being fully pleasing to Him and fruitful. He prayed for them to be strengthened with the power of God and to have patience and longsuffering. He also prayed for them to have a thankful attitude, because of God's salvation. Paul was praying for them to be righteous. How often do you pray for righteousness for yourself or for others? I believe it should be the subject of more of our prayers. God is looking for that desire, and He will bless us when we seek His power to be like Christ. After all, we could not be righteous at all without Jesus coming to die for us. It is God's will for us to live like Christ would here in this world and then go to heaven to be with Him. Let's not miss the need to live in righteousness now.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 34-36 and Colossians 2.
Colossians is a book packed with truth. One of the most precious parts is Paul's prayer for the believers in chapter 1 verses 9-12. His prayer was for the saints to be righteous. He prayed for them to have knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He prayed for them to walk worthy of the Lord being fully pleasing to Him and fruitful. He prayed for them to be strengthened with the power of God and to have patience and longsuffering. He also prayed for them to have a thankful attitude, because of God's salvation. Paul was praying for them to be righteous. How often do you pray for righteousness for yourself or for others? I believe it should be the subject of more of our prayers. God is looking for that desire, and He will bless us when we seek His power to be like Christ. After all, we could not be righteous at all without Jesus coming to die for us. It is God's will for us to live like Christ would here in this world and then go to heaven to be with Him. Let's not miss the need to live in righteousness now.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 34-36 and Colossians 2.