Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. By myself, I have sworn, from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return. To me, every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall swear allegiance.
– Isaiah 45:22–23
Wow. Just think about these two verses and the global implications they have, starting with every single person that you see around you today and extending to every single person in the world, and not just in the world today, but in all of history, all the ends of the earth. That’s who this is addressed to. God is saying, “Turn to me. I’m the only God. There is no other God. Turn aside from all other Gods, idols, anyone, anything else. Turn to me and be saved.”
Isaiah 45:22–23 is a sobering reminder of humanity’s need for salvation.
This makes clear that we all, every single person in the world that you see today, far beyond the people you’ll see today in all the world and all history, need salvation from sin before God. And God has spoken. He has sent out his Word and it is clear. “To me, every knee will bow. Every tongue shall swear allegiance.” In other words, again, just picture the people you will interact with today. Just look around you and everyone you see will one day bow before God, and that’s true for every single person on the planet today. We see similar language in Philippians 2:9–11. “One day every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father.”
In other words, the question is not have people made Jesus Lord of their lives? Jesus is Lord of everyone. The question is have we bowed the knee to his Lordship? The question for every person in the world today is not will you bow the knee to Jesus as Lord, but when will you bow the knee to Jesus as Lord? Now or when it’s too late? Will you trust in him for salvation or will you die apart from the salvation he has made possible?
Isaiah 45:22–23 invites all of us to turn to God.
So for anyone listening right now who has not trusted in Jesus as Lord, confessed Jesus as the Lord of your life, here, God is saying very clearly in Isaiah 45:22,” Turn to me and be saved today. Don’t wait any longer.” And maybe even you’ve called yourself Christian but have you confessed Jesus as Lord of your life? That’s the question. Have you experienced salvation in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life? If not, turn to him and be saved today.
And then for all of us who have, let’s speak this Word to people around us today. We know what’s coming. We know they’re all going to bow and call Him Lord, and we know that they need to be saved today. So God, we pray, help us to boldly call people, friends, family members, classmates, co-workers around us, people around us today that we may meet for the first time. God help us to call them, invite them to turn to you, and be saved. God we pray, help us in the power of your Holy Spirit to share this gospel with people around us.
Today, this week, we pray that in our church gatherings, that you would draw people to yourself. Help us to invite people to come and to hear the gospel and to turn to you and be saved. God, we pray for the salvation of family members, friends, co-workers, and classmates. God save them, we pray.
Prayer for the Kababish People
And we pray for the salvation of the nations, for the spread of the gospel all around the world, to every people group.
God, we pray for the Kababish people today, almost half a million of them in this Muslim people group in Sudan, amidst war, amidst strife, amidst starvation. God, we pray for the spread of your grace, your salvation to the Kababish people of Sudan. Please send workers to spread the gospel to them. Help us to do whatever you’re calling us to do to spread the gospel to people, groups like them. God, we pray for the salvation of the Kababish people of Sudan and all the peoples of the world, knowing that one day, every nation, tribe, tongue, and people group will be gathered around your throne as Lord of all the nations.
Oh God, we pray. Help us to be faithful, to spread this message in Isaiah 45 verse 22 and 23. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. In the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all 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, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
