Open Up Oh Heavens

 

For the Lord is God,

    and he created the heavens and earth

    and put everything in place.

He made the world to be lived in,

    not to be a place of empty chaos.

“I am the Lord,” he says,

    “and there is no other.

I publicly proclaim bold promises.

    I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.

I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me

    if I could not be found.

I, the Lord, speak only what is true

    and declare only what is right.  

—Isaiah 45:18-19 (NLT)

 

 

Earth resonates with the beauty you fashioned, Lord—mountains, seas, rivers, and vistas that seem to stretch to eternity. You have placed each element of nature perfectly. Earth abounds with living things you have shaped for our pleasure. You have made this world for us to live in and not be a place of empty chaos. Yet, our insatiable desire for our own way instead of yours, Lord, has driven us to discontent, disorder, and self-destruction. Sin reaps what it has sown. The beauty of your creation has become marred by pandemonium where reasoning has vanished.  

 

You still speak the promise of your peace to your children! You are our Savior, and you have not forgotten us. You proclaim your promises! You do not whisper them in some dark corner. You tell us to seek you boldly, and we shall find you. "Keep on asking," you proclaim, "and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8, NLT).

 

You have given your children peace that the world cannot understand. Your peace only springs from within the heart of those who believe in you, Jesus. We pray for all to know you and the beauty of the new life you have created. We will keep on praying and seeking, knowing you shall move in answer to our prayers. You will reach those whose hearts are desperate for peace and hope that only you can give.

 

Lord, you declare what is right and true! “Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together” (Isaiah 44:8, NLT). You, oh Lord, have created them!

 

Lord, you created heaven and earth. But we look forward to the new heaven and new earth you have promised—a world filled with your righteousness. Whatever we see or hear going on in this world around us, we pray for your salvation—for lives desperately longing for answers and peace to seek you. And when they seek you, they shall find you. It is your promise.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

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