“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lore rises upon you.” –Isaiah 60:1
As we begin our journey of praying through Isaiah 60:1-3, we begin today by focusing on the first word of our passage, “Arise.” The word arise is an active word that connotes great boldness. Literally speaking, the word means to “adopt a standing posture.” When one arises he or she stands boldly, in confidence, in front of others.
Church history is full of many great saints who did arise for the cause of Christ in their generation. Bonhoeffer arose against Hitler. Wilberforce arose against slavery. Calvin arose and the Reformers arose to transform Europe in the Middle Ages.
When God’s people arise, God backs them up.
Robert Frost said, “freedom lies in being bold.” This may be true for our nation today. If the Church does not stand up in boldness and proclaim the full counsel of God’s Word to society, we cannot expect for our nation to change. Our freedom to worship, to express our faith and to live our lives according to God’s law will only be preserved if believers take their stand on God’s Word.
Unfortunately, many people in the church struggle with or are ignorant of their needs to arise. Modern life, with its complications and trappings, has a way of lulling us to sleep spiritually. The Message Bible puts Isaiah 60:1 like this, “Get out of bed, Jerusalem!” Many times we need to pray for God to wake us up so we can see the great need around us.
It should be noted that when the early church was faced with persecution, their main prayer was not for the persecution to stop, but for boldness to increase (Acts 4:29). Regardless of our political climate or station in life, we believe God will fill us with His strength to arise when the time is right.
Three practical ways believers can take a stand and arise in this present hour:
- Boldly take a stand for integrity in your workplace / school
- Boldly share the Good News of Jesus Christ with friends and family
- Boldly speak Biblical truth to our governmental leaders
Prayer Points:
- Pray for boldness to be on your pastor and leaders as they preach the Word of God to your congregation.
- Pray for Christians in you local government to rise up and be bold as the Holy Spirit directs them.
- If you are experiencing any persecution for your faith, ask God to enable you to respond in boldness.
- Church to Pray For: Antioch Community Church Baton Rouge, LA
- Lead Pastor: Jake Griffin