This is what He said: "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." (2 Chronicles 7: 14)
This
is what we hear: "if people who call
on My name will pray then I will hear from heaven, and will forget their sin
and heal their land."
Notice
the difference? Read them again.
We
expect----heck, some people stand up and DECLARE--- that God will fix what’s
wrong for us. Why?
Why
would He?
Are
we called by His name?
To
bear His name is to be a member of His household. To be a member of His household is to
obedient to His authority. Are we
obedient to His authority? Really? Even when He authoritatively tells us to do
what we don’t wanna and to quit doing what we enjoy?
Are
we the people called by His name, or are we just the people who call His name
when we want something? Cause those
people are houseguests, not member of the household.
Do
we humble ourselves? Or do we exalt
ourselves as blessed, highly favored, anointed, royal, etc., etc.?
I’m
not saying that the saints aren’t all of those wonderful, Biblically rooted
things. I’m simply pointing out that
when we focus on the exalted aspects of our Divine identity, we’re not in the
place where God said He’d hear, forgive, and heal.
We
pray. Oh, we do pray. But when we pray, do we seek His face, or do
we seek His fortune? Do we want a deeper
experience and understanding of God for God’s sake? Or, do we want deeper blessings from God for
our sake?
Last
questions. Be honest, now.
Are
we turning from our wicked ways?
Are
we, or are we turning around looking for ways to justify our wickedness? Do we come to Him weeping and confessing,
“Lord, we have done wrong. Lord, I have
done wrong”? Or, do we come to him with
3-ring binders full of reasons why what we’ve done shouldn't be called wrong and
shouldn’t be held against us?
(It’s the White man’s fault.
I was born this way.
My parents gave me PTSD.
My student loan is too big.
My income is too small.
Other people are worse than me.
Obama.)
How
can you or I turn from our wicked ways when we don’t see what’s so wicked about
the way we are?
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.
Now here’s the hard part.
God
will hear our prayers.
God
will forgive our sin.
God
will heal the brokenness and injustice in our land.
But
first…
But
first, we have to:
1) Submit to His
authority
2) Genuinely humble
rather than exalt ourselves
3) Love Him and seek Him
alone
4) Be real about how
wicked and stupid WE have been
---then
He will hear from heaven, and will
forgive our sin and heal our land.
And
if not, then He won’t; and 50 years after this movement we’ll be talking about
how sad it is that nothing has really changed.
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse
Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and
director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human
Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
You
can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the
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Support
by check or money order may be mailed to
Miles
Chapel CME Church
P O
Box 132
Fairfield,
Al 35064
