7:14
I'm going to begin 40 days of prayer and fasting on 7/14 @ 7:14 AM. There is nothing "special" or "spiritual" about 7/14 or 7:14, but it's a helpful reminder to me--a spiritual milestone. It is also an allusion to the incredible promise in II Chronicles 7:14. "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."
This passage is one of those conditional promises that starts with that little yet large two letter word--if.
I'm a huge fan of counterfactual theory--a branch of history that asks the "what if" question. For example, in 1260 AD, Kublai Khan asked the father of Marco Polo to send 100 Christian teachers to share the gospel with the Chinese people. His request was never granted. The missionaries turned back when they ran into high mountains and harsh conditions. What if those 100 missionaries had made it to China and shared the gospel with them?
A few weeks ago the Holy Spirit dropped a question into my spirit--"What if 700 NCCers started interceeding for this city?" What would happen? What kind of spiritual impact would it have? What miracles would happen as a result? Who would come to Christ as a result? There is only one way to find out--just do it.
I believe there is one two-letter word between us and the blessings of God. It's the little word "if." We have not because we ask not.
There are four conditions in II Chronicles 7:14.
The first condition is humility. A move of God always has "humble roots." As we humble ourselves it allows God to use us in greater ways. How do we engender humility? I recently read a fascinating verse in Deuteronomy 17. Moses gives a prescription for humility to the future king of Israel. The king had to copy the law onto a scroll for himself, keep it with him at all times, and read it daily. Verse 20 says, "This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud." Scripture is preventative medicine! It keeps us from getting proud. So I think a big part of this forty days of prayer and fasting is to spend time in the word. The word keeps me humble!
The second condition is prayer. It means to intervene or intercede. Instead of passively sitting on the sidelines, prayer is the way we get proactive and become part of God's plans and purposes. I think prayer is where we get "God ideas" that can help us reach the city via creative evangelism. And prayer is where we get the boldness to do what God has called us to do.
The third condition is seeking His face. There is a difference between seeking his "face" and seeking his "hand." So many people seek God's hand--what God can do for them. And prayer becomes a childlike wish list. But we're called to seek His face. The end result of seeking God's face is wanting what God wants. God downloads his desires into our hearts so that we have His heartbeat for the city. The real battle is won or lost on the level of desire.
The final condition is turning away from our wicked ways. We must take radical measures to remove sin from our lives. One of my definitions of sin is "waste of energy." Sin is a waste of energy--we spend our energy on something that doesn't deserve it. When we stop sinning we are able to invest our energy into the things of God. Impurity is what renders us impotent. The power of our prayers are proportionate to our level of spiritual purity--this is an inescapable spiritual law.
This passage is one of those conditional promises that starts with that little yet large two letter word--if.
I'm a huge fan of counterfactual theory--a branch of history that asks the "what if" question. For example, in 1260 AD, Kublai Khan asked the father of Marco Polo to send 100 Christian teachers to share the gospel with the Chinese people. His request was never granted. The missionaries turned back when they ran into high mountains and harsh conditions. What if those 100 missionaries had made it to China and shared the gospel with them?
A few weeks ago the Holy Spirit dropped a question into my spirit--"What if 700 NCCers started interceeding for this city?" What would happen? What kind of spiritual impact would it have? What miracles would happen as a result? Who would come to Christ as a result? There is only one way to find out--just do it.
I believe there is one two-letter word between us and the blessings of God. It's the little word "if." We have not because we ask not.
There are four conditions in II Chronicles 7:14.
The first condition is humility. A move of God always has "humble roots." As we humble ourselves it allows God to use us in greater ways. How do we engender humility? I recently read a fascinating verse in Deuteronomy 17. Moses gives a prescription for humility to the future king of Israel. The king had to copy the law onto a scroll for himself, keep it with him at all times, and read it daily. Verse 20 says, "This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud." Scripture is preventative medicine! It keeps us from getting proud. So I think a big part of this forty days of prayer and fasting is to spend time in the word. The word keeps me humble!
The second condition is prayer. It means to intervene or intercede. Instead of passively sitting on the sidelines, prayer is the way we get proactive and become part of God's plans and purposes. I think prayer is where we get "God ideas" that can help us reach the city via creative evangelism. And prayer is where we get the boldness to do what God has called us to do.
The third condition is seeking His face. There is a difference between seeking his "face" and seeking his "hand." So many people seek God's hand--what God can do for them. And prayer becomes a childlike wish list. But we're called to seek His face. The end result of seeking God's face is wanting what God wants. God downloads his desires into our hearts so that we have His heartbeat for the city. The real battle is won or lost on the level of desire.
The final condition is turning away from our wicked ways. We must take radical measures to remove sin from our lives. One of my definitions of sin is "waste of energy." Sin is a waste of energy--we spend our energy on something that doesn't deserve it. When we stop sinning we are able to invest our energy into the things of God. Impurity is what renders us impotent. The power of our prayers are proportionate to our level of spiritual purity--this is an inescapable spiritual law.
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