Today, things around me seem to be so far removed from when I grew up as a child. More and more, different ones in our nation are seeking to take away our freedoms to praise and honor the Lord Jesus Christ. We are a nation built on godly principles. We have been so blessed in this country to be able to openly worship God for many years. Indeed, this country was founded by men who loved God, and desired to be able to worship Him and follow Him, and have God as a vital, living part of everything that this nation did.
But now, our Christian walk and ways are being threatened by those who would have the name of Jesus stilled and stopped. They don’t understand the love and the power God gives in the Holy Gospel to those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and believe in the wonderful name of Jesus. Church, we must pray.
“If My people, which are called by My name,
shall humble themselves......”
What does it mean to humble ourselves? The dictionary meaning of humble is not proud or haughty; not arrogant or assertive; submissive. There are many Scriptures that warn us against pride. In Proverbs 6:16-17, a proud look is one included in the list of seven things that God hates, and are an abomination to Him. If God is to be God to us, He must have first place in our hearts. Arrogance and haughtiness tends to suggest that a person, not God, has all the answers and the power to put things in place. Only one can be supreme, and that is our precious Father, God, Creator and Ruler of the Universe, Who is LOVE. If any would have a spirit of pride and not put God in the rightful place as Lord in their lives, then that is sin. Deuteronomy 5:7 says, “Thou shalt have none other gods before Me.” We must be careful not to walk in pride and put ourselves, our wisdom, our thoughts, and our desires above God’s wisdom, thoughts and desires.
Father, forgive us for any pride in our hearts.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. James 4:7-10
This Scripture in Chronicles does not say that the world is to pray, or even that those who, apart from God, are walking in sin and rebellion need to change. This Scripture is talking to the people of God which are called by His name. I, many times, have thought of Moses. When the people sinned in the wilderness and went away from God, the Bible says in Exodus 34:9 that he repented for the people. “If now I found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray Thee, go among us; for it is a stiff necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.” He put himself as part of the people. The sin was not his, but he took it upon himself to plead the cause for all and repent for the people. “Pardon our sin and iniquity, O Lord.”
We, as children of the Living God, can pray for the sins of our nation. We can repent for the sins of murder, abuse, adultery, and perverseness that has seemed so prevalent in our nation. We can repent and ask God’s forgiveness for the babies that we, in our nation, have killed, and the innocent lives that have been murdered by those with no respect for life in our country. We can repent for those in our nation that have turned away from God and trusted worldly wisdom over the wisdom of God. We can repent for those who have not been true to the covenant of marriage. We can repent for not being obedient to the commandment of God to love. We can repent for the nation for anywhere where we, as a nation, have come short in the sight of God.
As you begin to stand and intercede for our nation, ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray as you should.
“If My people, which are called by My name,
shall humble themselves, and pray......”
“If My people, which are called by My name,
shall humble themselves, and pray,
and seek My face...........”
How do we seek the face of the Lord? David knew how to seek the Lord’s face and find him faithful. Let’s look at Psalm 27.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee. Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger: Thou has been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me. O God of my salvation. When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of my enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies; for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalm 27:1-14
David knew God. He knew his salvation and strength were only to be found in Him. He knew that there was nothing in himself that was able to defeat his enemies, but as he trusted in the Lord and sought the face of God and His protection, then God would be faithful to see him through. Even when his enemies were gathered around him, he determined to trust God and not fear. Instead, David looked to God for deliverance, protection, strength, answers, and His leading to the plain path. The Amplified Bible says to seek, crave and require as a necessity, God’s face. Do you require God’s face as absolutely necessary for your life and your walk? When God calls us to seek His face, let us say with out hearts like David did, “Your face, Lord, will I seek.”
If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If My people, which are called by My name,
shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked way...........”
2 Chronicles 7:14 above, first says, “If My people, who are called by My name....” If you have believed in God, and on the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, then you are part of the people of God. If you haven’t made that choice, today can be your day. You can find out how by clicking on ARE YOU READY?
“If My people,
who are called by My name.....”
In this Scripture, God calls us to turn from our wicked way. Maybe you look at your life and do not feel that you have wicked ways or willful sin to turn from. Your heart is towards God. To the best of your ability you are walking pure and holy. There may, however, be things in all of our lives that we do not see or recognize as sin, but the Father would judge them so. Look at the following Scriptures.
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
James 4:17
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23b
When I look at these Scriptures and see what God classes as sin. I have to really search my heart to see if I am doing the good that I see to do. If I am not doing the good, that is sin in my life. Then I have to look and see if there are areas in my life where I am not moving in faith. Are there things that I am doing just because I thought to do them, but I have not prayed about them, or got a leading from the Lord in that direction? They are not of faith.
The Scriptures tell us that we are not to fear. Many times, the Bible says, “Fear not,” “Be anxious for nothing,” “Cast your cares on the Lord, for He careth for you.” “Let not your heart be troubled.” You can’t be in fear and faith at the same time. You are either in faith, or you are in fear.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
Unforgiveness is sin. God calls us to forgive as He has forgiven. Is there anyone I have not forgiven? Not only is unforgiveness a sin, but any who would hold on to unforgiveness and harbor it in their hearts are further hindering their own way. If any harbor unforgiveness, this above Scripture says that God will not forgive their sins. For us to forgive is a choice.
I think some people have a hard time with this because they are going on their feelings. God never promised us feelings. We must make a choice to forgive, simply because God calls us to do so. Then we do it as an act of our will, and believe God to walk it out in our lives. If the feelings come again, it is up to us to say, “O, no. As an act of faith I have forgiven them.” If unforgiveness is a problem in your life, you could make the following your prayer:
PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS
Father, in the name of Jesus, as an act of my will, I choose to forgive _________________. I thank You, Father, that with Your help I can forgive the way You forgive. I lift up _____________ to You, and I ask You to meet them at their point of need, just where they are. Thank You, Father, for walking out all unforgiveness in my heart. Amen.
Sin can feel like a bondage. Like Paul in Romans 7:15, when he talked about those things that he desired to do, those he did not do. But the things that he hated, those were the things that he did. He felt trapped. What he wanted to do in his life he wasn’t seemingly able to achieve. In the past, I have been where he was. It seemed like there were some habitual sins that I fell back into time and again, even though my heart was to go on for God. I wanted to live pure and holy for Him. I found my answer in Romans 6:11-14.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:11-14
When I saw that sin could not have dominion over me because I was not under the law, but under the grace of Almighty God, I stood my ground on that truth. One of the other versions of the Bible says that sin is not your master. From that point on, when sin called my name, I said, “No. In the name of Jesus, sin, you are not my master. I am alive to God and under His grace.” The bondage to those old things that I had been falling back into was broken off my life, and I was able to walk free in the name of Jesus. I found that we, as children of the Living God, can walk free of anything that Satan would try to hold us bound to, by knowing who we are in Christ Jesus, and what He has already done for us.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36
Jesus has already redeemed us through His sinless blood, and God has already delivered us from darkness and put us into the Kingdom of Jesus. We must do our part. We must turn from our wicked ways for God to forgive us and heal our land. This is the time when we need to get ourselves right with God. We need to have our ears attuned to Him, so that we are at the right place at the right time to be under His protection, care, and blessing. I would hate to have my spiritual senses clogged up with a lot of garbage in this hour. I want to hear clearly the leading of the Lord. I can’t say I have totally arrived at holiness, but I’m better than I used to be, and I have set my face to the prize, and I’m going after it.
(GOD) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14
“If My people, which are called by My name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked way; then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Let’s pray for our law makers, that they will have divine wisdom from God to rule us wisely and well, putting those laws in place that will allow us to live in peace and honor God in our land. Let’s pray for all men so that we can live in peace.
Whatever your thoughts or beliefs regarding our present President or our incoming President, God has called us to pray and uphold those that are in authority over us. God is still in control. Sometimes as a child of God, we can see things that do not appear to be right, and may even be harmful in the ways that those in authority have made decisions that affect our nation and our lives. It is only prayer that has the power to change things. Our words of complaint only further enforce what is.
I believe it is God who puts people in places of authority. It is God’s hand that allows them to hold their positions of leadership over us. Proverbs 21:1 says that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it withersoever He will.” God is turning the hearts of the kings and those He has put in authority the way that He desires them to go. Can you believe that? God is still in control. It is not too hard for Him to get His wisdom to those who are in authority over us.
With all of the things going on in our nation and the world that are threatening to come against our freedoms and our faith, I think it is time that the church, the body of Christ, get real before God. Jesus is coming for the church, His bride, who is to be without spot or wrinkle. If there is any sin, in the open where we can see it, or hidden from our eyes, it is time to ask God to reveal it to us, and to help us to walk free from all unrighteousness.
I believe that we are in the last days, and God is getting ready to pour out His Spirit on the earth in ways and measures that we have never seen before. I believe that we are going to see the day that the entire body of Christ will walk healed and free, and I believe we’ll see that before Jesus comes to get the church. It is on my heart to get myself holy before Him, so that I don’t miss anything that He has for me, or for our nation. How about you?
© Prayerline Ministries, Inc.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. 1 Timothy 2:1-3
