Responding to God's Call

The last few chapters of Isaiah make for an intense read! I've previously posted about the final chapter here.

In this post, I'd like to turn to verse 1 of the second-to-last chapter (Isaiah 65:1, ESV),

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
    to a nation that was not called by my name.

Isaiah often touches upon this theme: God calls us, but it is our responsibility to respond. We sometimes fail to recognize his calling, because, as Jesus says in Mark 8:18 (NLT),

You have eyes--can't you see? You have ears--can't you hear? 

That is, we need eyes and ears tuned to spiritual, rather than earthly, matters. In our prayers, let us ask God for those eyes and ears. As written in Proverbs 20:12 (NLT),

Ears to hear and eyes to see--both are gifts from the LORD.