“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 will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14
This is one of the best known verses to guide us in
intercessory prayer for our Nation. Since we plan to devote time for that in
our service this week it is worth devoting time to this week!
Before I begin sharing my thoughts on this verse, I want to
share some encouraging news to illustrate the power of intercessory prayer. It
was my privilege to have lunch with a missionary and his wife who worshiped
with us at FredWes yesterday. They serve with YWAM in the south east part of
India. As we visited I asked him if he has experienced what missionaries in
Africa and other Muslim areas are reporting – Christ appearing to Muslims in
visions and dreams leading them to convert to Christianity. He exclaimed, “Oh,
yes!”
As we speculated on this exciting phenomenon we agreed that
it must have something to do with many prayers of intercession being offered up
for the salvation of these Sons of Abraham.
James said it best, “The prevailing earnest prayer of a
righteous man avails much.” James 5:16
We believe prayer is powerful because it connects us to an
all-powerful God! That’s why the little to letter word at the beginning of this
verse is significant! “IF”! “If my
people….”
That phrase is powerful because:
1) It promises a “then”! If you will call on me THEN I will
hear and answer! To get a THEN you must offer the IF!
2) It prescribes a commitment to faith and action. The
Founder of our movement, John Wesley said, “Nothing happens except for prayer.”
3) It provides hope for His people in difficult times!
For these reasons and others we are calling the FredWes
family to prayer in both services this next Sunday! We are doing this as a last
desperate act of fearful people we are doing this as a faithful people who are
fully convinced that when we commit to the “IF” God will commit to the “THEN”!
Sunday, July 5th, we will honor our nation by
giving ourselves to intercessory prayer for her. "IF" you can join us, then we
will have more effective results!