2 Chronicles 7:13-14
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
It seems like the older I get the more I recall the silly things I did as a child. It is almost as if God has parted the curtains of my life and allowed me to see things that the stuff of life has hidden. I wonder if our prayer life also has a “childish” nature.
We want God to do for us what He has commanded us to do. When God speaks, He does not revise His demands for our obedience. Thank God that He remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We, on the other hand, we are prone to stray one way or the other.
As I read the Scripture for today, I see several things. First of all, I notice that God does bring devastation on the land. Certainly the reason is because of the sin of the people, but it is also to draw His people back to Him. We like to pray the last part of this passage without regard to the first part.
We pray for revival without first paying the price. What is the price? We have to humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. I must ask this question: Have we really met those requirements? It is far too easy to ask God to fulfill His part without doing our part. FORGIVE US, LORD!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil