Lifting up Prayers

15 APRIL

It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. Isaiah 37:4

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Mattthew 6: 9-13

Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah, asking him to lift up prayer for the remnant of Judah. In this we learn that the duty of a prophet is not only to comfort the afflicted with the Word of the Lord but also to offer prayers for their salvation.

Pastors and ministers of the Word, therefore, should not think they have fully discharged their duty when they have exhorted and taught, if they do not also pray. This also is what all of us ought to do. Yet Hezekiah asks Isaiah to pray in a particular manner so that he might lead the way to others by his example. "To lift up prayer" is nothing more than "to pray," yet the mode of expression deserves attention, for it shows how feelings should be regulated when we pray. 

Much of Scripture tells us to lift up our hearts to heaven (Lam. 3:41), for if we do not, we will have no fear of God. Moreover, we are so dull that we may be immediately seized by gross imaginations of God. If he did not bid us look to heaven, we would choose rather to seek Him at our feet. "To lift up prayer," therefore, is to pray in such a manner that our hearts do not grovel on the earth or think anything earthly or gross about God but rather ascribe to Him what is suitable to His majesty. Then our warm and earnest affections may take lofty flight. It is thus said in Psalm 141: "Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense;... as the evening sacrifice."

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: How often do we lift up prayers to heaven? When do they seem to stay on the ground? What does that do to our spirit, and how is our impression of God affected?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke