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.
2 Chronicles 7:14
My country, the one I am proud to be a citizen of, is in need of healing. As divided as our nation is, I think there is one thing that we all can agree on, no matter what your beliefs, there is a lot of pain and division in our country. Social Media holds a lot of power in our society and a part of that power is having information and everyone’s opinions constantly in our face. We are not victims to this power; we allow it every time our finger touches the app to open it. Nonetheless, I believe that everyone in our society feels the power of social media, whether they use it or not.
While I personally love what social media CAN be, I have to admit that the “noise” coming from social media has muffled God’s voice. I can still hear Him clearly, but it takes a bit more effort for me to silence my own opinions and thoughts. Hearing God without some sort of filter is possible, but it takes intentionality. To be honest, it’s something that is very easy for me to do, but lately, it’s been a tad more difficult – and I don’t like that. So, I made some decisions that seem a bit counterintuitive for someone in the process of writing and publishing a book, but necessary because while I am an author, first and foremost, I am a daughter of God who represents Him on this Earth. If I don’t know His heart, who He is, what He’s saying, and what His plans are, I could write the best book on the planet and still not accomplish my purpose on this Earth.
God has been speaking to me about the power of prayer for months now and this past week I really focused on a verse that God had spoken to many men and women of God for this nation that drove some leaders in the Christian faith to call for a National Day of Prayer and Repentance and gathering at the Capital Mall this past Saturday, September 26, 2020. I am one of the leaders in a ministry called Jesus House, and as we began thinking about our monthly meeting, God had echoed in my heart the topic of prayer, and this was before I even knew about the National Day of Prayer.
Our monthly meeting was already scheduled for 9/26/2020 which happened to be the same day as the Day of Prayer, so when I discovered this, we partnered with what God was doing to come together and pray for our nation.
Has your prayer ever included phrases like “God, show ‘them‘ the truth” or “God, show ‘that person‘ the right way”, or “God, may you lead ‘so & so‘ to repentance”? I know I’ve prayed like that before, but I thought I was praying the right things as an intercessor. What I didn’t realize is how religious, condemning, judgmental, and self-righteous it was to pray that way.
I can’t say exactly why, but reading 2 Chronicles 7:14 two weeks ago, I could see neon signs around what God was truly saying. I could see the hope in His request of His people, but before that I was so busy praying that everyone else sees the light that I was failing to see the light for myself.
So, let me share with you the SIMPLE truth of the heart of God behind 2 Chronicles 7:14.
God IS NOT asking for politicians, rioters, protesters, racists, or those who have abortions to humble themselves, pray, and repent.
He IS asking for us, His people, those who are called by His name, to humble ourselves, pray, and repent.
He doesn’t need corrupt politicians or violent rioters to stop what they are doing so He can heal our land. No.
He is asking for us, HIS PEOPLE, to pause what we are doing, saying, and thinking. He wants us to HUMBLE OURSELVES before Him recognizing that we need Him; that we are desperate for His wisdom and intervention; that we are “poor in spirit” and can’t continue to live our lives without Him being our everything.
God is asking HIS PEOPLE to PRAY. He is inviting us into a relationship with Him. He wants to dialogue with us. He wants to heal our heart, share His heart, and align our hearts with His so that we can be one with Him.
He is asking HIS PEOPLE, those called by His name, to REPENT and turn from our wicked ways. That’s right. He’s not asking those we oppose to repent or those we believe are in sin. Nor is He asking us to go save the world and bring them to repentance. No. He’s calling His own people to repent from their wicked ways, words, and thoughts.
Then HE WILL HEAL OUR LAND.
Do you see the hope in that. If we, the people of God, those called by His name, humble ourselves, chat with God, and repent from our wicked ways and towards Jesus Christ, God will heal our land!!!!
I am seeing that happen all over our country…and that’s how I know that God is healing our land. He said He would and I stand on the promises of God.
So, if you are called by His name and want to see healing in this country, but haven’t yet declared your desperate need for God, talked with Him, and repented, then, you now know what needs to be done for God to intervene.
Before we go pull the speck of dust out of our neighbors eye, let’s work out that plank in our own eye. We will see so much better when we do because the healing begins.
If you would like to listen to more on this, you can visit my podcast where you can listen to the message I shared with our ministry partners and friends at our monthly meeting.
Authentic Faith w/ Andrea John – Will God Heal Our Country
xoxo,
Andrea
The Journey with Andrea 