11When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12the Lordappeared to him at night and said:
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. (2 Chronicles 7:11-16)
Thoughts: One of the most famous prayer verses of the Bible is verse 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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land"). The idea is that there is hope- even when there is no rain, or locusts, or plague or whatever. The hope is not found in technology but in prayer. Technology is limited. The best irrigation cannot substitute for rain. The best technology cannot keep a real locust plague out. There are diseases that come upon us (like AIDS or Ebola) in new and shocking ways. But prayer is a resource of hope that God gives us to come back to Him. The cross of Christ is a sacrifice for forgiveness and healing, but prayer is a means of grace- a gift to enable God's mercy to come.
Today we discount prayer because we discount God's power. If we do not believe in God's power to bless, heal, forgive, and help then we have shut off His hope for us. I have heard some- specifically speaking of the shootings and violence say that we should stop praying and do something. But prayer is doing something- and it is something that the young, the old, the powerful and the powerless can all do. It is a cry to the Almighty who can do more than any government or technology can dream of doing. The problem of living in a day of great technological advances and knowledge is that we become too proud and think we can solve every problem by ourselves. God is not just our problem solver, He is THE problem solver. The greatest problem is not our locusts, plagues, or drought (or school shootings, terrorism, or bad politicians)- but our pride in thinking we don't need God or to pray to Him. God calls us to call to Him.
Today we discount prayer because we discount God's power. If we do not believe in God's power to bless, heal, forgive, and help then we have shut off His hope for us. I have heard some- specifically speaking of the shootings and violence say that we should stop praying and do something. But prayer is doing something- and it is something that the young, the old, the powerful and the powerless can all do. It is a cry to the Almighty who can do more than any government or technology can dream of doing. The problem of living in a day of great technological advances and knowledge is that we become too proud and think we can solve every problem by ourselves. God is not just our problem solver, He is THE problem solver. The greatest problem is not our locusts, plagues, or drought (or school shootings, terrorism, or bad politicians)- but our pride in thinking we don't need God or to pray to Him. God calls us to call to Him.
June 12- at 12:00- stop and pray. Pray for peace between North Korea and the US; Pray for peace in South Sudan (their negotiations continue). Pray for peace with Iran. Pray for our politicians (primaries go on in June). Pray for God to bring healing to churches and to the land.
Prayer: Lord, do it again! Heal our land again with a movement of your powerful Holy Spirit. Help us to see and have the will to pray.
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