IF My People

This week America faced two tragedies: the Boston Marathon bombings and the West, TX plant explosion. Suddenly social media was flooded with calls to pray for Boston, pray for West, pray for America, just pray in general. In times like this, one of the most popular verses that pops up is 2 Chronicles 7:14. What it actually says is this:

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." (NLT)

Every time there is an example of evil in our land this verse gets recited, except by the time we hear it, it sounds more like this:

"If my people who are called by name will pray I will stop the evil people and restore their land." We skip over the part about humility and take this verse to say that all we have to do is pray and the bad people will be stopped. The unfortunate truth in this verse is that WE ARE the bad people. Break it down. "my people who are called by my name" is us, right? We call ourselves Christians. We literally call ourselves by the name "Christ". "turn from their wicked ways" says that we are the ones committing evil deeds. We spend so much time praying for God to stop the evil people in this world, all the while we go about sinning. As far as humility goes, Sunday morning pulpits are sadly some of the most prideful spots in America. I've sat in churches where I felt I had to watch my step so as not to trip on the names the pastor has dropped during his sermon. Ministers talk about all the important civic leaders they rub elbows with, all the great they've done, how they have single handedly saved hundreds. They preach to congregations that read more like a country club than a house of prayer, where it's about networking, not worshiping. We love to throw up pictures of bombers and shooters and say that evil is rampant in America and that the devil has a grip on our nation, but if you believe this verse, you have to realize that it's the church's responsibility to change. We can't change the world, because we are trying to be like it.

This promise that God made to Solomon, that He would "hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land" came following the dedication of the temple. Solomon prayed and worshiped God and made sacrifices to Him. When his prayer was finished, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices and the presence of the Lord filled the temple and was so strong that the priest could not enter. When the people saw this, they fell on their faces and worshiped the true God. This context is important because before God can carry out his promise in verse 14, we have to do the work that happened in the preceding chapters. If we want God to heal our land, let us start in the church like this:

1. We must give God our best. When the temple was built, Solomon demanded that the best materials were used because God deserved no less. The days of leaders showing up to church unprepared must end. We have to learn the importance of preparation. The congregation must come ready to give their best. To not show up and expect that to be enough, we must come with an expectant heart ready to worship until we are exhausted, and then to push through a little more.

2. We must make sacrifices. Clearly, the people in 2 Chronicles used literal sacrifices, but God is just as serious about demanding non-animal sacrifices. We are to bring our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to live holy lives that will honor God and provide a strong witness. We must surrender ourselves to His purpose daily, not only in the church house. We bring a sacrifice of praise in our speech and action in the church, but also at home, work, and wherever else we go. We sacrifice our finances. It is a shameful notion that we would sit in God's house and rob Him by not returning what He has given us by paying our tithes and offerings.

3. We must pray. I don't mean for five minutes so the altar call can finish and you can go eat. I mean daily, without ceasing. I mean you pray when times are bad AND good. Not the kind of prayer that is about bringing petitions, the kind that deepens your personal relationship with God because you are learning His voice. We must pray that we would bless Him instead of praying for Him to bless us, because He has already done that.

4. We must dedicate His house. We need to make it clear in our churches and our communities the purpose of God's house. It's time we spent time praying over our churches that we would remember that although it is good to socialize and fellowship with one another, that is not it's purpose. We come to church to worship corporately and to edify one another in our individual walks. We need a renewed respect for God's house. And that brings me to my last point...

5. We must respect God's presence. When the people saw the fire fall, they fell. I can't help but feel that the reason a lot of church's have stopped seeking God's presence is because they wouldn't know what to do with Him if He exhibited Himself in such a strong manner. We must remember that everything, from the moment we enter the building is meant as an invitation to the Spirit to come and change lives. When He begins to move, we must learn to reverence His Spirit, and obey Him.

If we are serious about God healing our land (whichever land you happen to be reading from) then we have to get serious about Him. We have to abandon this idea that the problem originates somewhere else. I would ask that everyone reading, especially pastors, take this call seriously. We've allowed our temples to fall in disarray and without a definitive action being taken, things will only get worse.