July 5, 2026, Isaiah 59:1-13

July 5, 2026, Isaiah 59:1-13

59 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
² but your iniquities have made a separation
    between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
    so that he does not hear.
³ For your hands are defiled with blood
    and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
    your tongue mutters wickedness.
⁴ No one enters suit justly;
    no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
    they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
⁵ They hatch adders' eggs;
    they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
    and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
⁶ Their webs will not serve as clothing;
    men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
    and deeds of violence are in their hands.
⁷ Their feet run to evil,
    and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
    desolation and destruction are in their highways.
⁸ The way of peace they do not know,
    and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
    no one who treads on them knows peace.

⁹ Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind;
    we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
    among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
¹¹ We all growl like bears;
    we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
    for salvation, but it is far from us.
¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
    and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
    and we know our iniquities:
¹³ transgressing, and denying the Lord,
    and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

 

Isaiah 59:1-13 explains that human suffering and unanswered prayers are not caused by a lack of power on God’s part, but by humanity's sin, which creates a barrier between people and God.

 

Am I quick to acknowledge my mistakes to God, or do I make excuses and blame outside circumstances?

 

Use verses 12–13 as a template for a personal prayer of honest confession, asking God to forgive you and realign your heart with His.

 

Robin Adams