A Son Is Given (Isaiah 9:6–7)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
—Isaiah 9:6–7
Yet another promise in Isaiah, fulfilled ultimately in Jesus. These verses, which we often read and meditate on at Christmas time, are intended to be meditated on and rejoiced in all year long. For to us a child is born, a son given. God gave his Son. This is Jesus, and his name is . . . Just think about this. I want to leave us to pray and just praise Jesus for these names.
Wonderful Counselor. Just think about it. He’s your counselor. When he sent his Holy Spirit, he said, “I will give you the Counselor to live within you.” You don’t have to walk through this world trying to figure things out on your own. Jesus is a wonderful counselor.
Mighty God. As we prayed about in light of Isaiah 7, he’s God in the flesh—God with all his might and all his power in the flesh. This is Jesus.
He is Everlasting Father. What a picture. The Son is called Everlasting Father—the mystery of who Jesus is: fully human, fully divine, God in the flesh, the mystery of the Trinity. Oh, so much we can meditate on there.
And then Prince of Peace. He brings peace to our anxious, weary, worried souls. He brings peace to a world that is full of war and strife and conflict. And of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He is coming to establish a kingdom with justice and with righteousness that will last forever, from this time forth and forevermore.
Sometimes when we read Scripture, it leads us to pray for things in different ways—to ask for things in our lives or in others’ lives. Sometimes when we read Scripture, it leads us to repent in different ways. And sometimes when we read Scripture, we just need to praise God for what we’ve just read. That’s what I want us to do.
Oh God, we praise you for giving your Son. Jesus, we praise you as the Wonderful Counselor in our lives. We praise you for not leaving us alone as we walk through decisions, as we take every step we take today and do everything we do today. We praise you for your counsel, for the Holy Spirit who is our Counselor in us.
Jesus, we praise you as the Mighty God, as Almighty God in the flesh. We praise you for your power over all things, your sovereign authority over everything. We praise you as the one to whom belongs all authority in heaven and on earth. We praise you as the Mighty God.
We praise you as our Everlasting Father. We praise you for the privilege of knowing you, God, as our Father—as a Father who loves us and cares for us and provides for us and protects us and leads us and guides us. All glory be to your name for the privilege of being your sons and daughters.
And we praise you, Lord Jesus, as the Prince of Peace. We praise you for the peace you bring to our anxious, worried minds and hearts. We praise you for the promise that wars will one day cease, that conflict and strife will one day be no more. We praise you for the Prince of Peace you are, for the government of peace that one day will be fully realized on this earth—your peace, your justice, your righteousness reigning perfectly on the earth forevermore.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We praise you for who you are, and we pray that you would help us to trust you as our Counselor, to trust your power, to trust you as our Father, to trust you as the Prince of Peace in our lives today, and to spread the good news of who you are to people around us and to peoples around the world.
A Prayer for the Sumra Sindhi People
God, we pray specifically today for the Sumra Sindhi people of Pakistan—for 250,000 of them, most of whom have little to no knowledge of who you are, Jesus, as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. God, spread the truth, the good news of Isaiah 9:6–7 to the Sumra Sindhi of Pakistan, we pray. Bless all who are working for the spread of the gospel to the Sumra Sindhi in Pakistan, and use our lives, use our resources, use us in any way you want to make the good news of your grace known among them. Open their eyes, oh God, to Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
We pray all of this in his beautiful, matchless, holy name. Amen.
