by Angela Moore
"My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land." ~ Yahweh. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
It sounds so simple, doesn't it?
If we want our Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, to hear our prayers, we simply need to do the following:
1. Humble ourselves
2. Pray
3. Seek His face
4. Turn from our evil ways
When we do, God says He will forgive us of our sin and heal our land.
So, why don't we do it then? Why is it so difficult for us to actually do those 4 things? What is keeping us from them?
1. Humility.
First we need to recognize the fact that Yahweh is God, and we are not. Sadly, we can say we are doing this, but our thoughts & actions contradict our words. If we truly were to humble ourselves, would we not be down on our faces, sobbing and repentant? Would we not allow Him to direct our lives, rather than trying to control everything ourselves and demand our own way?
2. Pray.
Sadly, very few Christians have solid, consistent prayer lives. We admit we could be better, as a concession of how truly pathetic our prayer lives really are, if existent at all. We're not talking about unbelievers. We're talking about people who call themselves followers of Christ and fill up the pews every Sunday. We're not praying! What would happen if we really began to learn to pray?
3. Seek His Face
Let me simply point out that Yahweh says to seek "His" face.... God's face isn't a three-headed "Our" faces (plural). What would happen if we truly began to seek to know the one true God, whose name is Yahweh? Would we find ourselves with more of an intimate relationship with the God of the universe, by seeking Him as He is, rather than seeking a non-existent, man-made triune being? I believe if we get serious about seeking to know God, we will not be disappointed, He will begin to hear our prayers and the power of believers will be increased, to the glory of our God on High!
4. Turn from our evil ways.
This is where the rubber meets the road. You can say you "believe" all that you want, but until you truly repent from your sins and turn away from the evil things that you are doing, you are simply deceiving yourself. Sin. Everyone does it and has some in their lives. What amount of it is acceptable? How much will God tolerate? How much of what we are doing, that we know in our heart of hearts is wrong, is okay?
In the Old Testament times, the Law was established that described the sacrifices for sin. One sacrifice was made by the priests, for the sins of which people were ignorant of committing! I think this is indicative of how we should be living. Yes, we are saved by grace, but we are to be dying to ourselves, ridding our lives of sins. If there is a sin in your life that you KNOW is a sin....stop doing it!! There are plenty of other sins, that we aren't even aware that we're doing in our lives! Let us, at the very least, work on eliminating our known sins! It has to be intentional. It will not always be easy, especially if it's something we've been doing for years. The people in our lives might make it difficult to attempt to live a holy life. Yet, if we want our God to hear our prayers and heal our land, we must, must, must, turn from our evil ways! We must turn our backs on our old, sinful life, and live a new life in Christ!
If you've never made a commitment before to become a follower of Christ,
If you've never been baptized,
If you've never formally told someone that you believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom and Jesus Christ, then do it today!
It's not easy to live a new life in Christ, without the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit, empowering you to desire the things of God and to want to please Him. When you are baptized, you not only signify the cleansing of your sin, which symbolizes your public decision to follow Christ, but you also receive the gift or deposit of God's Spirit to dwell inside of you, to give you the power and strength to turn from your evil ways. To skip this step, is like trying to paddle upstream in your canoe, without the paddles. You're not equipped for the job. You won't make it. You won't find success. You might get a little ways on your own might, but it won't be enough. And why would you attempt it in the first place, without the paddles? They are free. You just need to pick them up and use them. Just like God's grace and His Spirit are free...you just have to receive it. Make a decision.
What's keeping you from following God and His Son's words? Let's decide that today will be different. Let admit that we can't do this on our own, but that God must help us (Humble ourselves). Let's pray that we are sorry for our sins, and we need the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from our wrong doings. Let's seek God's face, by spending time getting to know Him and His word! Let us turn from our evil ways and walk in the newness of Jesus Christ! Let's do this today, together, and then stand back and see what God will do as He hears our prayers! I pray that He will forgive us of our sins and heal our land.
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