All of us desire to be free. We long to be brought out of the darkness that keeps us isolated, and to have the chains broken that keep us bound. We’ve been told that if we want this freedom we should seek after God, and so we do. We read the Bible, we pray, we attend worship services, we may even fast but, nothing changes. We still feel bound and shackled. The people of Israel in Isaiah’s day knew this experience well. In Isaiah 58 we see the community praying and fasting, crying out to God for God to bring about freedom in their lives. When God doesn’t seem to respond the way they would hope, they ask, “Why do we pray and fast and you don’t see?” Most of us have wondered the same thing. Where is God? Why isn’t God responding when we cry out? God has an answer for them, but it’s not the answer they expected. In this series, School of Prayer: Rebuilding the Ruins, we will explore the prophetic word that God gives in Isaiah 58—a word that, if we will listen to it, will not only drastically reshape our lives of prayer, but will also transform our lives, our neighborhoods, and our city. Will we listen? *Series begins January 5th.
“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”
Video Resources
These videos will help you gain deeper insight into the biblical concept of idolatry and why it matters for us today.
"Justice" is a felt need in our world today and a controversial topic. But what is justice, exactly, and who gets to define it? In this video, the team from the Bible Project explores the biblical theme of Justice and shows us how it's deeply rooted in the story-line of the Bible that leads to Jesus.
Listen as Urban Doxology performs a poetic reading of Isaiah 58 and sings their song “Purge Me” as a response to this text.
Written Resources
Called to Participate in the Ministry of Suffering with the Weeping God
by Keri Hui
A Hard Word to Hear This Winter (Isaiah 58:1-9a)
by Barbara Lundblad
Are We Missing the Point of Spiritual Disciplines?
by Kristen Deede Johnson
Shalom Justice
by Clifton Clarke