Food for Thought2 Chronicles 7:14 Humble Themselves
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

2 Chronicles 7:14

New King James Version (NKJV)

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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What people? God’s people who are under the name of Christ. God is asking us to be humble.

What is it to be humble? I found this explanation interesting:

Humble - Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.

The description of this word coincides with the verse in that God is asking us to look outside ourselves and see a world that needs our attention. It almost sounds like if we pray it is a part of being humble; humble yourself and pray.

It does take a humble heart to find the necessity to pray. I’ve heard people say that they don’t pray for themselves, but that is an incredibly arrogant statement since we all need God exactly the same. It implies that either I am not deserving enough to pray for myself and all these others are more important to God, or it is saying that God can’t handle so many prayers sent to Him so I will help Him and just keep my problems to myself.   

Either way we are putting conditions on God’s desire to answer all prayers even our own about ourselves.   Praying for ourselves is true reliance on God and knowing we cannot survive without His intervention. We are all dependent on Him and need to pray for ourselves because of that great need for Him.   None is exempt.

The other part to this verse refers to praying about all situations that cross our path as a rule not as an exception. Are we so engrossed in our own little corner of the world that we are not extending support to others through our prayers.  Right now our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East are being tortured, raped, and killed.  We need to pray for them. God is very clear about prayer.  It is our way of partnering with God and changing and fighting evil.  It is our communication with the Father and our weapon as an intervention to stop darkness in the world.  

Who of us have a right not to pray?  None.  This is required of us and we must step up and hold ourselves accountable. Praying should be and must be part of our daily lives.    Prayer is the power we use to move mountains and expose the darkness with God’s light.

God’s says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray………..

Seeking God’s face opens us up to the answers and direction we need during prayer.

Praying without direction from God is like splattering paint on a blank canvas and expecting it to automatically materialize into a clear understandable picture.    

God has specific prayers for us to pray in the moment, because He knows what is going on in that moment and He needs us with heart attentive and ears perked to His voice so that He can lead us into prayer.   I have heard many stories of people who suddenly felt it on their heart to pray for even strangers and then found later because of their prayers the person was spared pain and even death.

In the next verse …….turn from their wicked ways.    This is what God is ultimately waiting for in order to have a close relationship with us.

Our humble hearts and obedience removes any obstacle keeping us from successful prayers.

God wants to hear our prayers and desires only to answer them, but it is our sin and our waywardness that puts a cover over His ears.   

Challenge: Repent and ask God in the moment you are in what He wants you to pray about.  Then be silent and let Him tell you.

God bless

Marni

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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.