By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

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Redemption

Isaac watched,

listened, held

the words as a deep

well’s sounding echo

resonates into silence.

Memory of cold rock

glistened knife, rough cords,

emblazoned on soul—

God’s redemption.

Cupped with trust

precious seed

invoked blessings

upon future generations.

Psalm 104:21, “The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.”

Reflection: Invoke: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1. What words has God given you that sound deep in your heart?

2. Do they enable your faith now or only as a future hope? Why?

3. What blessing from God would enable you, or does enable you, to tie present and future together as a conscious faith reality?

Share: What prayer blessing do you invoke for your family?

Invoke: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:20, “By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau.”

Invoke

Invoked is a strong word. One we might think of today in terms of a court order. One dictionary refers to it as calling upon or calling down—almost a demand upon what is possible and irrefutable.

It is a word of strength based on facts, on knowledge, on premise—a declaration.

Inner surety of completion of obligation to render a response—even without a full understanding of the consequences. For Isaac, his personal preferences were overturned by God’s purpose. But that was not the heart of his request.

Instead trusting in the rightness of the authority.

Isaac claimed blessings by words of faith for his own sons, as his father Abraham had trusted God’s word for him. For the future. For a promise made by God and experienced for himself at the edge of death.

Inherited legacy that demanded intentional willingness to pass along.

Intercession for sons who still had no clear comprehension of the magnitude of the promise before them. Or their obligation to uphold it. Or the loss they faced if discarded.

Intervention to ensure they both lived under God’s rule—secure in His kingdom, protected in their ignorance and their emerging faith. He asked for God’s provision and expected a positive answer.

Imperishable words based on God’s character invoked for the present and the future.

Your thoughts,