SGC Quarterly Pastors Prayer Initiative
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet…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 62:1, 6-7
Jonathan Edward’s says of these verses: “I know of no place in the Bible, where so strange an expression is made of to signify the importunity in prayer…How strong is the phrase! And how loud is this call to the church of God, to be fervent and incessant in their cries to him for this great mercy!”
Now, who am I to edit the great Jonathan Edwards; but if I would be so bold, I would edit his quote to read: “And how loud is the call to pastors/elders, to be fervent and incessant in their cries to him…”
In the context of Isaiah 62, Isaiah is speaking of his own importunity on behalf of Zion, and of God giving ‘watchman’ to put the Lord in remembrance. It is an example of prayerful leadership from Isaiah and a statement of God’s design for other godly leaders to ‘not keep silent’ - to ‘not be quiet’ - to ‘take no rest’ - to ‘give him no rest’.
What an invitation and calling to us as pastors! Godly leaders are to be watchmen on behalf of God’s people. According to Isaiah 62, we are called to use our prayers to call God to remember his people and to make of them a “crown of beauty” and a “royal diadem” in the hand of our God.
I want to be a faithful watchman, and as a fellow pastor, I imagine you do as well. There are many needs in our family of churches and many exciting opportunities for God to move.
And so, let’s pray!
It has been a privilege to pray with many of you this year, already. The SGC Prayer Initiative started in January and we have had two prayer meetings over Zoom so far. In this one hour prayer meeting we pray over the quarterly prayer bullets and then we break into small groups to pray for local needs. It is a relationally rich and rewarding time. It is a joyful opportunity to be watchmen together.
If you want to join us in praying, please email me at jshorey@redeemerde.org.
Joel Shorey is the new Director of Church Planting for Sovereign Grace Churches and the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in Newark, DE. Joel and his wife Ashley have four children.