Single lesson
Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power
Isaiah 64:1–12
Isaiah 64:1–12 is a prayer asking God to act with visible power. The speaker remembers God’s greatness, admits the people’s sin, and pleads for mercy as they look at ruined cities and a burned house of praise.
Before you teach
This passage is written as a prayer to Yahweh. It moves from a cry for God to come down, to a confession of sin and uncleanness, and then to an appeal based on God’s fatherly care and creative power, ending with questions about continued silence and severe punishment.
Explain the central teaching of Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power, using two details from the reading. This prayer teaches that people may honestly ask God to act, confess their sin, and appeal for mercy because he is great and they belong to him.
Welcome: Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power
5 minIntroduce “A Prayer for God’s Power” and locate Isaiah 64:1–12. This prayer teaches that people may honestly ask God to act, confess their sin, and appeal for mercy because he is great and they belong to him. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:7, Isaiah 64:12
Read and explain the passage
12 minThe prayer opens with a bold request: that God would tear the heavens and come down. The language pictures such power that mountains quake, brushwood burns, and water boils. The purpose is not spectacle alone, but that God’s name would be known and the nations would tremble at his presence.
The prayer does not minimise sin. It says all have become unclean, and even their righteousness is like a polluted garment. Their lives fade like a leaf, and iniquities carry them away like wind. The problem is deep: no one calls on God’s name or stirs himself to take hold of him.
The prayer ends by describing loss plainly: holy cities are wilderness, Zion and Jerusalem are desolate, and the house where their fathers praised God is burned with fire. On that basis, the speaker asks whether Yahweh will keep silent and punish them very severely.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “A Prayer for God’s Power”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:2, Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 64:7, Isaiah 64:10, Isaiah 64:11, Isaiah 64:12
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What images in the opening verses show the kind of power the speaker wants God to display?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This prayer teaches that people may honestly ask God to act, confess their sin, and appeal for mercy because he is great and they belong to him. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:2, Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 64:7, Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 64:9, Isaiah 64:10, Isaiah 64:11, Isaiah 64:12
Make and respond: Words and images response sheet
12 minWork on “Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power: Words and images response sheet”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “A Prayer for God’s Power” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:7, Isaiah 64:12
Closing: return to A Prayer for God’s Power
3 minRevisit Isaiah 64:1–12. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about A Prayer for God’s Power and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:7, Isaiah 64:12
Questions to explore
What images in the opening verses show the kind of power the speaker wants God to display?
Look for the pictures of quaking mountains, burning brushwood, and boiling water, and connect them to the request for God to come down.
Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 64:2
How does the prayer speak about human sin and weakness?
Notice the words unclean, polluted garment, fading leaf, and iniquities like wind, and also the statement that no one calls on God’s name.
Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 64:7
What reasons does the speaker give when asking God for mercy?
Gather the appeals based on God being Father and potter, the people being his handiwork, and the ruined condition of the cities and house.
Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 64:9, Isaiah 64:10, Isaiah 64:11, Isaiah 64:12
Make, think or respond
Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power: Words and images response sheet
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “A repeated word or image”, “Its verse reference”, “What it expresses”.
- Read Isaiah 64:1–12. Use “A Prayer for God’s Power” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Choose one image and add a short written response or a simple drawing. Explain how it connects with the passage.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Isaiah 64: A Prayer for God’s Power connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “A Prayer for God’s Power” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Isaiah 64:1–12. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Isaiah 64:1–12. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Isaiah 64
1 Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the water to boil. Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for, you came down, and the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned. We have been in sin for a long time. Shall we be saved?
6 For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
8 But now, Yahweh, you are our Father. We are the clay and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.
9 Don’t be furious, Yahweh. Don’t remember iniquity forever. Look and see, we beg you, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house where our fathers praised you is burned with fire. All our pleasant places are laid waste.
12 Will you hold yourself back for these things, Yahweh? Will you keep silent and punish us very severely?
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.