Daily Encouragement: Year 2, Day 84
From Handbook to God’s Promises
GOD’S RESPONSE TO ME
If My People
Read 2 Chronicles 7:14–16
An aging preacher once outlined a sure way to bring revival. His prescription was as follows: Stand on a patch of dirt or sandy soil. With a stick, draw a circle all the way around your feet. Confess the sins of everyone standing inside the circle. When you are finished, revival will have come. Granted, it will be a small revival, but it will be a biblical revival nonetheless.
The preacher’s methodology, while humorous, is on the mark. Revival comes when the people of God set aside sin and call on God in repentance for restoration. And, based on God’s words to King Solomon at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, it would seem that God stands ready to hear His people’s prayers of repentance any time they choose to offer them.
This famous passage of Scripture, in which God gives Israel the conditions for spiritual healing in the nation, stands as a testimony to His willingness to respond to the cries of His people. Verse 14 is set in a classic “if/then” covenant form. When God’s people have a need, especially when they have sinned, a condition must be met. God says, “‘If my people … 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” (vv. 13–14). To assure His people further, God continues in verse 15 to assure Solomon that His eyes are open and His ears attentive to prayers offered in the temple, His dwelling place.
God lived in the midst of His people in the temple in order to be ever present to them. And where does He live today? Still in the midst of His people, the church, and through the life of every believer (see Acts 7:48–49; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19–20; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19–22).Whether you need reassurance, refreshment or revival from the Lord, He is in His temple waiting to hear your prayer. But first, find a patch of dirt or sandy soil.
God’s Promise: Whatever your need, His ears and eyes are yours. Call on Him.