Then

Surprisingly, my daily devotion for last Monday was again Isaiah 6:8.  It is extremely rare that the same Bible verse is being used in two daily devotions of the same month, let alone in the same week.  However, this second time around it emphasized the first part of the verse 8, in a way that answered my prayer about "discernment".

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying..." Isaiah 6:8a

Indeed Isaiah was able to discern (hear) the Lord's Will because he was raised as a prophet.  Yet the most important word that captured my attention was the word "Then".  When and why was it possible for Isaiah to discern?

"Woe to me!" I cried.  "I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, ...."  Isaiah 6:5

"Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he has taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."          Isaiah 6:6-7

THEN I heard the voice of the Lord .....

All these years I have read this passage focused on "Send me"; but totally missed out on Isaiah's confession of his sins to God in verse 5. In the same way I have overlooked how God cleansed and removed guilt BEFORE Isaiah was able to discern God's Will. 

In Alpha we were taught that prayers consisted of A = Adoration
                            

                                          C = Confession
                                          T = Thanksgiving
                                          S = Sublimation

How can I be so blinded to the fact that "confession" is such an important element to my prayer life, let alone the venue to "discernment" ?

Rather than just praying for discernment for SMSL, I need to back track one step... to quietly confess my own sins to the Lord; trusting in His forgiveness to re-establish my communication channels with Him through the blood of Christ on the cross.  THEN and only THEN will I be able to hear His voice!!

"But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord, to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?"                     (Jeremiah 23:18)

"Here am I, send me!"

 jane