National Day of Prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The following is 2 Chronicles 7:14 according to Shirley in other words this is how I read it. I noticed it quoted a lot today since today is the National Day of Prayer but I wonder how many of us have really stopped to think about what it REALLY says.
if my people who are called by my name – That means Christians who are saved by Grace Washed in the Blood – Redeemed. To me this does not include non-believe. Why? Well because God was specific in this verse He said ‘if MY people WHO are CALLED by MY NAME…a non-believer can not be called a child of God.

John 3:16 & 17 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

See this verse if for God’s people who are called by HIS name.

I know that if I call one of my boys by the wrong name they will not answer much less come when I call them. Why because they do not think I am talking to them.

humble themselves- I thought I knew what humble meant but I looked it up, I am using the verb tense – to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase; to destroy the independence, power, or will of; to make meek: to humble one's heart.

So this means I need to lower my perceived importance status, get rid of my independence and my strong will.

Ouch that means I have to come down off my pedestal out of my ivory tower that I have set up for myself

and pray and seek my face – I know I do not stay on my knees long enough and I fail many time to stay long enough to seek His face much less hear his voice.

and turn from their wicked ways, - Here is the deal breaker…AND TURN FROM their wicked ways…to me that means go right or left or pop a U’ie – leave what you are doing that caused you to break fellowship with God move away from temptation flee…TURN get back on the right path and don’t go back to doing that “stuff”

then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land – well lookie there, there is that 4 letter word…THEN – adverb- meaning next in the order or in that case; as a consequence – If I humble myself, pray and seek God’s face and turn from my wicked ways THEN GOD will hear me in heaven and will forgive my sins and heal my land.

Have you ever oiled a hinge? Well growing up in an old house we had to oil the hinges to keep them from squeaking when we opened and closed doors. I learned after a while that you could put oil on the hinges but until you worked that oil down inside that hinge would still squeak. The only way to work the oil inside was to open and close the door.

We are like hinges that need oiling…the oil...humble ourselves, working the oil down in the hinge…pray and seek and turn…the blessed peace when the hinge is well oiled…God will hear, forgive and heal.

Did you get that? God WILL hear my prayers, WILL forgive my sins AND heal my land

Now I will make some people angry with this next statement, but this is my belief. America is in the toilet because of Christians. Yep that is correct I said it. We are in the toilet because we as Christians have failed. We have lowered our moral standards, we have become complacent with our lives. We only want to hear the good stuff we don't want to hear how God is a God of wrath and how He will allow us to fall into the hand of the enemy. God that is written about in Matthew to Revelation is the same God that was written about from Genesis to Malachi. God did not change from the old testament to the new testament. He only made a way for us to have eternal life. So if God removed his hand from the Children of Israel because they disobeyed and turned their back on him what makes us think that God will treat us any different.