And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” -Isaiah 6:8b
If you grew up in the Christian bubble then you have either heard the above phrase/verse or have said it yourself. You may have even put it on a mission trip tshirt so you could proclaim it to all who saw you set out on your journey. Or even a cool tattoo on your wrist…
This phrase sounds noble and very Christian.
You are saying, “Yes, Lord I am willing to go and serve you and your people…at least for a week but then I want to come back to my normal life. But I promise I will be changed after this trip and do a better job of being a “missionary” in my own neighborhood.”
How many times have we seen that actually happen?
Wow, tell us how you really feel…
What if we saw “Here I am” as one of the most dangerous prayers to pray instead of a cute slogan for a mission trip?
In Hebrew, it’s all one word. It’s the word hineni. It’s a response to God calling one to action. It is an attitude of humble servitude where one lays down their own agenda to be a part of what God is calling them to. It is like you are saying, “I am waiting for your direction, God.” I will go and do what you call me to do.
“Here I am” is not just some phrase we say when we are feeling super-spiritual and motivated to go serve God for a short period of time. It’s a life-altering statement. One that means our life will never be the same again. That’s why it is a dangerous phrase to pray because if we truly mean it then it will require more from us than we could ever imagine.
I don’t think this is a phrase to be taken lightly. And I don’t think it is a phrase that every Christian should pray unless they have “counted the cost of following Jesus” (Luke 14:25-33) because it will be put to the test.
In this instance of Isaiah saying, “Here I am”, Isaiah understood the weight of saying this phrase to the Lord. He knew it meant that his life was no longer his own but rather the Lord’s.
What caused Isaiah to cry out, “Here I am! Send me.”?
Just look back a few verses in chapter 6 and you will see that Isaiah’s life is dramatically changed after experiencing the holiness of God firsthand.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah gets it. He is rocked to the core by what he saw and it motivates him to preach the good news to a tough crowd in hopes that one would be saved. After seeing the holiness of God contrasted against his own sinful nature, Isaiah was burdened to share this truth with an unclean people. It was out of his brokenness that his calling was birthed.
“Whenever a character in the Bible underwent a moment of profound change or crisis, he pronounced this same word: Hineni. Here I am.”¹
I pray you would take that leap to tell God, “Here I am. Send me” and have the courage to go wherever he leads you. Because this might just be the moment that leads to a profound change in your life. It may lead to a crisis or trial so “count the cost.” Is it worth it for you to surrender everything to follow Him? The answer is always, “YES!”
1 Axelrod, Cantor Matt. “Hineni: A Prayer for the Ability to Pray.” My Jewish Learning. August 01, 2018. Accessed February 02, 2021. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hineni-a-prayer-for-the-ability-to-pray/.