“Arise. Shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you for behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness, the peoples. But the Lord will arise upon you and His glory will be seen upon you and nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
– Isaiah 60:1–3
Oh, what a grand vision of future glory that ultimately comes in the light of the world, Jesus, who shines upon us in the darkness and listen to the imagery here. Darkness shall cover the earth, thick darkness, the peoples. Just picture it. Peoples, nations covered in this phrase, thick darkness.
Picture pitch black. You’re looking at your hand in front of your face and you can’t even see it and in that thick darkness, the Lord will arise upon you. The Lord will arise upon those who trust in Him. His glory will be seen upon you in a way that draws the nations to your light, kings to the brightness of your rising. Do you see this?
Isaiah 60:1–3 Prays for God’s Help to Reflect Light in the World
When you come to know Jesus, the light of the world, you are designed by God to be a light to others. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 5, “Let your light shine before men, before people, before nations, that they may see the light of Christ in your life and give glory to God.” That’s exactly what Isaiah 60:1–3 is talking about.
So God, we pray that You would help us to be a reflection of the light of the world. Jesus, we praise You for the light You have shown in the darkness of our lives. We praise You for saving us from our sins, for redeeming us, forgiving us, taking our shame and turning it into honor, taking that which was dark and bringing light.
You are our life. Your life is light to us and God, we pray that You would use our lives and Your light in us to shine before others, that people might be drawn to You through our lives. Help us to live lives that’s so reflect the light of Jesus that others see us and give glory to You. God, please may it be so.
Praying for the Mahishya People of India
I was praying through the Mahishya people of India today and I read how spiritual darkness can keep the light of the gospel from reaching the Mahishya, this people group of 12 million people. Spiritual darkness can keep the light of the gospel from reaching them. God, we know that Your light has power to overcome darkness. So we pray for the Mahishya people of India. God, we pray for light to shine among that 12 million people.
We pray for the few believers who are there that the light of Christ would shine through them. The few churches that are there. God may there be more and more lights shining among the Mahishya people. And 7,000 other people groups in the world.
God, we pray that the light of Jesus would spread through us. As your people today. Right where we live and as we pray and as we give. As we go that nations would come to Your light just as Your word says in Isaiah 60:1–3. Let me pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
