On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.
– Isaiah 62:6–7
That is powerful imagery, and what a command. So the whole picture here is God saying, “I’ve put watchmen on the walls who will not be silent”. He says, “All the day and all the night, they shall never be silent. They will not rest throughout the night, and they’ll give him no rest”. Well, who is “him”? Well, that’s a reference to God. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest and give him no rest. So that’s you don’t rest and you don’t give God any rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.
Isaiah 62:6–7 teaches us that God wants us to come to him in prayer.
This is basically saying God wants his people calling out to him, crying out to him until his purposes are accomplished in Jerusalem for the praise of his name and the good of his people. Now, that’s an Old Testament passage, but just to take this over into the New Testament in our relationship with God, how much more so through Jesus, we’ve been given access to God? We are welcomed into his presence by his blood.
So let’s call out, cry out day and night. Let’s take no rest. Now, obviously, we’re going to sleep, but in a sense, just think of the New Testament command to pray continually. Take no rest, give God no rest from your calling out and crying out for what? Well, for what Jesus taught us to pray. “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done in all the Earth as it is in Heaven”.
Isaiah 62:6–7 teaches us to be persistent in prayer.
Oh, don’t give God any rest from your praying like that. From your calling out for God’s purposes to be accomplished for your good, for others good around you, for the good of the nations, and ultimately for the glory of his Name. Hallowed be your Name in all the Earth. And let’s pray like this until it happens. Until the glory of the Lord fills the Earth, as the waters cover the sea, until Jesus comes back. Let this cry be constant on our lips as long as we have breath.
Oh God, we pray you’d help us to be faithful watchmen on the walls today. Help us to pray continually. Hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name in our lives. Lord, hallowed be your name through our lives, in and through our family’s. Hallowed be your Name, caused your Name to be known as holy through your Church, through the churches we’re a part of, and the places where you send us, God, into every classroom and every workspace, and every street and every city where you send us, help us to live for the glory of your Name.
This verse reminds us to pray for the accomplishment of God’s purposes.
Help us to live for the spread of the gospel of your kingdom. God, help us to speak the gospel today so that people might be saved, might be brought into your kingdom. God, we pray for your justice to reign in the world. Lord, we pray for your peace in the middle of wars and conflicts. God, we pray for your mercy on those who are hurting around us. Lord, there are so many things that we can be crying out to you all day long for, so help us to do it. God, help us to pray continually, persistently, to take no rest and give you no rest from our crying out to you with confidence that your purposes will be accomplished, and they’ll be accomplished, O God. Just hitting me in a fresh way, that your purposes will be accomplished through our prayers.
Even as we’re praying right now, you tell us when we ask, according to your Word, we will receive what we’ve asked, God, that yes, your kingdom is going to come and the Earth and it’s going to come in response to our praying. Your name is going to be hallowed, and all the earth is going to be hallowed in response to praying. So God, help us to pray persistently, confidently, continually.
Prayer for the Jebala People
And we pray specifically today for the Jebala people of Morocco. God, for 1.3 million Muslim men, women, and children. You know every one of their names in Morocco, in those mountains, God, you love them, you desire their salvation. So God, we pray for the hallowing of your name among the Jebala. And we know, we believe that you are hearing this prayer, and your purposes will be accomplished through our prayers. Send laborers to the Jebala. If it’s us, send us, help us to send others. God, we pray, help us to do all you’re calling us to do for the accomplishment of your purpose in response to our praying.
Oh God, we pray. Hallowed be your Name among the Jebala people. May the name of Jesus be known and enjoyed and exalted among the Jebala. Please, God, may be so among them and thousands of other people groups like them, who right now don’t have the gospel, and help us to pray. Help us to give you no rest until every one of them has the gospel for your praise in the world. God, we pray all of this, all of this straight according to your word in Isaiah 62:6–7. Please help us to be faithful watchmen on the wall. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
