A PRAYER THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
God had been talking to me through this scripture repeatedly during the initial days. There was chaos all around me. I was hiding my bible in home and my sister’s only job was to go behind it, search every corner of the house and hand it over to my mom. My father would raise his hand over me but then suddenly he would not touch me, like something was stopping him. Spirits went crazy over me but God held me. It was surprising for me when the Holy Spirit called me by my name one morning and said, “Sayeeda wake up and pray”. Indeed he knows us by our names.
These words echo the voice of a loving father who knows you, sees your struggles and who calls you his own. It is not a distant or abstract that God is speaking here, but the creator who fashioned you in his image, who knit you together in your mother’s womb and who is holding your life in his hands. When you recite these words in prayer you are reminded of the intimate relationship God designed to have with you. A bond that nothing on earth can sever.
Isaiah 43:2 “when you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze”.
These are not just some poetic lines written in bible, these are real promises of God. I have heard multiple testimonies of people who claim that Jesus appeared to them and protected them from drowning, many testify that they have seen angels holding their children falling from rooftops. A sister gave a testimony that when she was travelling home her vehicle met with an accident and the vehicle rolled over 2 times up in the air before striking the ground, and then to her amaze she saw someone wearing a white robe, shinning as light, held her hand and brought her out of the vehicle and said, “your child is fine don’t worry”, and disappeared. She was 9 months pregnant then. He has his eyes over you all the time, so whenever you step of the house pray and thank him in advance.
Life’s challenges often feel like floods threatening to overwhelm us, sudden rise in prices of daily needs and school fees, financial struggles, broken relationships, or the pain of loss can make us feel as though we are drowning. God does not promise a life which is completely free of hardships but he does promises his presence in the midst of it. When you pray Isaiah 43, you declare that no loss, no wave, no storm can separate you from his love. You acknowledge that his strength is greater than your weakness. The enemy loves to trouble mankind and the rise in cost of living is one of his major steps, stay with God during these days of inflation don’t let this to consume and rip you apart from God.
The words, “when you walk through the fire you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze,” carry a profound message. Fire in the trails of life represents the moments when everything around us seems to crumble and the heat of sufferings feels unbearable, yet Gods promise here is the one of preservation and protection. He does not promise to remove the fire but he assures us that it will not consume us. When you pray these words you claim the victory and when you confess these words you feel an anchoring energy. Problems will exist and they are ever existing in everybody’s lives, but holding on to these versus will work like watering dry lands.
Isaiah 43:3: For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
These versus remind us of how great our God is and says that we are highly favored. Pray over anything that causes you anxiety and God will take care of it. You are not left alone in life’s battles instead you are backed by a God for whom nothing is impossible. I have encountered both mountains moving like favors from God and also small favors from God. Whatever your need is just put it in prayer and follow the guidance of Holy Spirit and leave the rest to God. Don’t get disheartened if things don’t turn in your favor, he is not your slave. If he is willing he will help. Sometimes he is quite, if this is the case, keep moving and stay strong, as he said, he will not allow you to drown. You will definitely hear voices that say, “where is your God, is he asleep, can’t he see how weary and troubled you are,” that’s exactly when you should start confessing these versus.
Isaiah 43:4
“Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life”.
These words are the most transformative of all, in a world that often measures worth by achievements, appearances and possessions, this is the truth that grounds us. When you pray these words you affirm that your value is not by the world but by the one who created you. You are precious to him not because what you have done, but because of who you are, “a child of God”.
Isaiah 43:5,
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.”
These words speak to a God who sees the brokenness of our separation, be it physical or emotional or spiritual and works to restore unity. In prayer this becomes a cry for reconciliation for healing fractured relationships and for the restoration.
Isaiah 43:18, 19:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
This chapter reminds us of God’s sovereignty and power who makes a way in the wilderness. A reminder for us all that he is the God who divided seas to make his people cross over and who turns dry lands into streams of water, you are never alone in your battels, you are backed by the God of the impossible. He tells us to forget the former things and tells us not to dwell in the past because he is doing a new thing. Sometimes our prayers are weighed down by failures and regrets by the things of past that we cannot undo or the hurts from past we cannot deal, but this chapter calls us to lift our eyes and see the new work God is doing. In prayer we must surrender our past to him and trust him that his plans for us are greater than anything we can imagine.
Isaiah 43:25
“I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.”
This is the heart of the gospel, a God who forgives, who restores and who calls us to live in freedom. When you pray these words you release the burden of shame that devil has been trying to put on you reminding of your past constantly, trying to distance you from him by creating self-doubt. You must then release a new grace that God offers. This chapter is not just a prayer, it is a declaration to the evil powers that you belong to God and nothing can change this fact. By doing this you reflect God’s boundless love upon yourself all over again. When you pray Isaiah 43 you align your heart with his truth and stand on his promises and you declare that no matter what comes your way you are held in the hands of God Almighty. Speak these versus out loud in prayer holding your bible in hand and declare it. Remind God of these promises that he has made and ask for his favor. Prayers that align with the word of God are those that are answered without fail.
Isaiah 43 is a reminder for us to place our trust in the Lord but is also a call for action. “You are my witnesses,” God says, this is a responsibility of living as a reflection of his love and truth in the world. It is a commitment to be a light in the darkness and to act as a vessel of his grace. As you meditate on Isaiah 43 the words take on new depth and meaning, they are not some words spoken to the Israelites in the desert but are living promises for us all. Each verse is a prayer in itself. When you pray these versus you surrender your fears to his power and embrace the hope that only he can deliver.
Most of the times we feel like life is a never ending struggle, but we who have seen the Lord at work also cannot deny that he is God. Confusion, frustration, weariness all come and seems like they are here to stay forever. We often ask, “why God? Why”? and there is no answer. It feels like living in a furnace. Remember the times when you received favors from God and say to yourself, “this will pass”. Ask God to give you strength to bear with this and grace to embrace it. Tell him that you love him and you are not walking away from him.
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