There is only one solution: we must be people who are praying diligently for God to come and move again in our land.
"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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV
In this political season, when clergy of all stripes rush to support their preferred candidates, it’s important to remember 2 Chronicles 7:14 was not written to the Democrats or the Republicans.
This is not a blanket invitation that applies to anyone, anywhere, at any time. God limits this invitation to those who are “his people.”
This is not, for instance, a verse that applies to the Hindus. Nor does it apply to mankind in general. This promise applies to those who know Jesus and to no one else.
To be called by the name of the Lord means you have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13).
“Will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways” (v. 14b).
Here are the four conditions for revival:
#1: Humility
What exactly is humility? Although many answers might be given, perhaps the simplest is that humility means seeing my true condition before God.
After all, pride is simply taking credit for things that I’m not really responsible for.
When we start feeling too puffed up about ourselves, we need to remember 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive?”
The answer is nothing.
#2: Prayer
What sort of prayer is the Lord talking about? It is the sincere prayer of a person who realizes his true condition.
When I understand everything I have comes as a gift from God, my prayers will be filled with gratitude, love and praise. I will cry out to God, confessing how far short I fall of his divine standards.
And every day I will remember the words of Jesus, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
# 3: Seeking God’s Face
The phrase “seek my face” is a familiar one in the Old Testament. It has to do with the direction of my life.
It is very similar to the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
To seek God’s face is to hunger for a closer walk with him. Many of us know little of this because we fill our stomachs with spiritual junk food that never satisfies but keeps us from seeking nutritious food.
The question is, what are you hungry for right now? Those who are hungry to know God seek one thing; those who are hungry for a career seek something else. What you are hungry for determines what you seek.
# 4: Turning from our Wicked Ways
At some point things have to change. We must repent. To repent means you turn from your wicked ways.
If you think about it, these four conditions form a kind of progression:
You will never pray with any fervency until you see your true condition before God.
You will never seek God’s face until you begin to get serious about prayer.
You will never turn from your wicked ways until God becomes all-important in your life.
Humility leads to prayer. Prayer leads to seeking God’s face. Seeking God’s face leads to turning from our wicked ways.
“Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (v. 14c).
We need to think carefully about this because it’s easy to turn 2 Chronicles 7:14 into a formula for revival.
Certainly the verse lays out a plan for us to follow. The word “then” encourages us to believe our crying to God will never be in vain.
Our tears are not in vain.
Our prayers are not in vain.
Our burden is not in vain.
Our sadness is not in vain.
Our desperation is not in vain.
Perhaps we can say it this way. When we are so dissatisfied with the status quo that we cry out to God for help, the answer will indeed come from heaven and things will begin to change. We must not limit God as to the how and the when.
He is still the sovereign God who does whatever pleases him (Psalm 115:3).
We must not dictate to the Lord about how the answer from heaven will come. He will answer in his own time, in his own way, according to his own will. But we have this assurance:
He will hear.
He will forgive.
He will heal.
If we do our part, though it will seem very incomplete, God will certainly do his. If we humble ourselves, and if we pray, and if we seek his face, and if we turn from our wicked ways, knowing all the while that we still fall short, God will move from heaven to come to our aid.
Politics is Not the Answer
This verse gives me hope because we seem to be in a bad state today. I cannot remember a time when America was more divided than we are at this moment. As a nation, we have turned away from the Lord. How will we ever find our way back to God?
The answer won’t come from the White House.
Politics will not save us.
Putting another justice on the Supreme Court won’t heal our land.
I say that in full recognition that it matters greatly how we vote because it matters who sits in the White House and makes those judicial appointments. We have to vote. I’m all for speaking out and taking a stand.
But when all is said and done, our greatest need is not political; our greatest need is spiritual. We need another great awakening in our land. Perhaps it will come in our day. I certainly hope so.
So where does revival begin? The answer is always the same. It begins with you and it begins with me.
It’s one thing to talk about what stands between our nation and revival or between my church and revival. It’s always easier to confess someone else’s sins. Ask God what stands between you and a new experience of his power and blessing. If you ask in sincerity, God will surely answer.
Do we have to stay the way we are? The answer is, “No, but." We have to start by understanding “the way we are.” Once we see that, the possibility of genuine change and real spiritual growth is open to us. So I end where I began.
Revival is not far away when we see ourselves as God sees us. It’s easy to say, “America needs to get right with God” or “My neighbor needs changing” or “My church needs revival.” Those statements can become excuses for evading our own responsibility.
The call of Christ is always personal. He calls us one by one to follow him. Perhaps we should repeat the Chinese prayer that goes this way: “O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray thee, with me.” Revival begins with the person you see when you look in the mirror. Start there and by God’s grace revival will begin inside your own heart.
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