All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
– Isaiah 66:2
Just hear the simple message of this verse. It is so simple, and yet so powerful. God says, “This is the one to whom I will look.” Other translations say, “This is the one who I will esteem.” Basically, the picture is, what is God looking for in our lives? What does God honor in our lives? Who does God honor? And the answer is, he who is humble and contrite in spirit.
Humility Before God
So it all starts with humility. Humility before God, humility before others. God does not esteem the prideful. God does not esteem the person who is focused on themselves, who is confident in themselves and what they can do. Who exalts themselves, who they are or what they can do. That is not the one whom God honors, esteems.
Instead, God looks upon the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and, “And trembles at my Word,” God says. “The one who opens my Word with reverence and awe and fear of disobeying it, because they love it so much and they love the one who gave the Word.” So we tremble at His Word. We hear it and we say, “Yes! Yes, I want to obey it with my life. I want your Word to lead me and guide me and direct me. God, I want your word to be my master. I, a servant of your word. I tremble before it.”
Isaiah 66:2 Prays for Humble Hearts
Oh, God, I pray for these things in my life. I pray that you would see these things in me today. And not just me, I pray, God, for other people who are listening to this, God, please look upon us and see humility of heart. God, please give us humble hearts. God, please remove pride from me. I pray that you would remove all pride from me.
I pray this for others who are listening, God, remove pride from us. Selfish ambition, vain conceit, focus on ourselves, God, remove it. Help us not to think about ourselves. Help us to focus on you. Think about you and your glory. And to think about others and their good.
Isaiah 66:2 Rejoices in the Love of God’s Word
God, we pray that we would be humble and contrite in spirit. And we pray that you would make us people, make me a man, make others who are listening to this, men and women who tremble at your word, who love your word, who open it and read it with reverence and awe and trust and submission and joy and love for it.
God, we pray for a Psalm 119 kind of posture before your word, that delights in your word, that meditates on your word, that stores it in our hearts, that seeks it and learns it and declares it and trusts it and rejoices over it and rests in it. We pray that you would make us a people who love your word so much that we tremble at it, because it is so important to us.
God, we pray that Isaiah 66:2 would be true of our lives, that you would look upon us and you would see humble, contrite hearts that tremble at your word. I 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.
