“So now O Lord, our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”
– Isaiah 37:20
Now in a previous episode, we talked about the context here, where the Assyrians were surrounding the city of Jerusalem, and threatening to invade and overtake them.
Context For Isaiah 37:20
Now in Isaiah 37, the king of Judah, Hezekiah, is praying to God and he is saying, “Now O Lord, our God, save us from his hand.” The hand of the king of Assyria. This is where I want you to think about the purpose of that salvation, because right after that he says, “God save us. Save us, help us.” It’s not just save us period. It’s save us, so that. This prayer is more than just about save us, save me. Save us, save me for a purpose, so that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that you alone are the Lord.
Isaiah 37:20 Reminds Us That God Aims to Make His Glory Known
God aims to make His glory known in all the earth. We should long to be used to that end.
When God saves his people, there is even more to it. It’s not just about the salvation of his people, which is obviously glorious, but there is something even greater. So that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that you alone are the Lord. God saves for the sake of his name, His glory made known among all the kingdoms of the Earth.
Hezekiah wants the glory of God to be made known among the Assyrians, so he says, “Save us that your glory may be made known through your salvation of us among them” in Isaiah 37:20. We see this picture all throughout the Bible. Over and over and over again we see that God’s ultimate motive in all that He does and what should drive our praying is not just this or that for us. Yes, we need His help. We pray for things in our lives. But so that His glory may be made known through our lives. Specifically here, His glory among the kingdoms. Among all the people. Among all the nations of the Earth.
This Verse Reminds Us To Stop Putting a Period At the End Of Our Prayers
I want to encourage you to think about your praying on a daily basis, and think about not putting a period on God help me in this way. Or, help this person even in that way as we’re praying for somebody else. Or, please do this or that for me. It’s yes, it’s right to pray for God’s help in all these ways. For God’s provision in all kinds of different ways. But don’t put a period on the end of it.
Instead, complete the prayer. God help me in this way, so that through my life your glory is evident. Help this person in that way. God, please do this or that in my life, somebody else’s life, so that your name might be known, so that the world around me might know your glory. Specifically among more and more people and peoples in the world around me.
Let’s try that. As we pray right now, you think about things in your life that you need God’s help in. Things that you’re praying for in your own life right now. Your family, your church. Let’s pray for those things.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray For Our Lives to Show God’s Glory
God help us we pray in these ways that come to our mind. We need your help. We need your provision. And we need your grace. We need your mercy in all kinds of specific ways right now in our lives, in our families, in our work, in the church. God we pray for the church in all kinds of specific ways. And we pray for your help and your provision, your grace, and your mercies. So that your name and your glory might be made known in and through our lives. In and through our families. So those in our workplaces know your glory.
God we pray for your glory to be made known in our workplaces. God we pray for your glory to be made known in and through your church and the community, the city around us. We pray for your glory among more and more people to be made known. And among more and more peoples. God, we pray that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that you alone are the Lord. May this drive our praying and our living today. God, we want you to be made known. We want the world to know you as the glorious, gracious, great God you are. We pray these things in the name of Jesus for the glory of His 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.
