You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isaiah 62:6,7 — New American Standard Bible)
This verse is for the many people we’ve counseled who insist that God can’t possibly want to answer their prayers because they already prayed and nothing happened. What a distorted picture of God we have, if we give up on Him after half-hearted attempts to seek His answer!
In this passage, God is teaching us some basic prayer skills:
We are to view prayer as an active, aggressive, even stubborn demonstration of our faith. Prayer is not for the faint of heart, the passive, or the emotionally driven.
He really does want to grant us our request! But He knows that persistence and perseverance are an integral part of generating the faith we need for miracles to happen. The process of fighting and yearning, praying and praying again with determination and assurance, is what builds in us a stronger relationship with Him. The fight is not for His sake, it’s for ours. We have to embrace it.
The motive for our prayers should be that He “establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” His great desire is to see His people established, and praised, which in turn will bring honor to Him — not just the city of Jerusalem, but we who belong to His Kingdom need to be a light, an example of power, peace and victory so that others can clearly see that God is real and cares for His own. If our lives are dull, how can He be revealed to others?
Whoever longs to be established, to be an example of victory and peace to bring others hope, the key is here. Give yourself, and give God no rest. Remind Him, insist with Him, pray over and over — badger Him!! Do you truly believe to the point that you will never give up? He will gladly grant your request, but through the process, you’ll find a miracle, know more about Him, and become solid in your faith, ready for any new challenge.
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