We must pray with tenacity.
The second thing that God told Solomon was: “If my people … will pray … I will heal their land.”
God wants us to pray and refuse to give up. He wants us to pray with tenacity. We simply give up too soon. That’s why we don’t see answers. That’s why America doesn’t see the widespread healing the Bible talks about in this verse.
Pastor, let me ask you a really serious question. How serious are you and your church about spiritual awakening and healing in America? How serious are you about healing in your church or in your own life? The tenacity of your prayer life will say a lot about how serious you really are.
How do you show your tenacity? Make a prayer list—and be sure your country is on that list. If you don’t have national healing on your prayer list, you’ll forget about it when you pray. It will get crowded out by your own urgent requests. Create a prayer list, and make sure national issues make it on the list.
We must seek God with intensity.
Third, God says, “If my people … will seek my face … I will heal their land.”
God wants us to seek him. This is not some kind of casual pastime. You don’t just seek God in your spare moments. It has to be our primary focus. God doesn’t want to be our profession. He wants to be our passion.
Very few people actually seek God intently. It’s very rare. Most people want just enough of God to bless them but not bug them. But if God is going to bring healing to our country, our churches have to be full of people truly seeking him.
I hope you’re already doing this. I hope you’re setting aside time to get to know God better every day. Your job description can be simplified to this—helping people seek God intently. But remember, that starts with you.
We must repent with sincerity.
Finally, God says, “If my people … turn from their wicked ways … I’ll heal their land.”
If we want healing in our country, we must repent with sincerity. A lot of people misunderstand this word. Repentance is metanoia in the Greek. Meta means to turn, to change. It’s a flip. Noia means mind. Literally, repent means to change your mind, to change how you think.
When we repent, we change the way we think about ourselves and God. We change the way we think about our values, other people, our past, our present and our future. Repenting simply means to change our mind about something. It’s a paradigm shift. I used to think one way; now I think differently.
What do you need to think differently about? What does your congregation need to think differently about? National repentance must begin with personal repentance.
America is in deep trouble right now. If God is going to judge America, he’ll start with us. He’ll start with his people. National healing will also start with us. America will not be healed because we passed a certain law. Healing won’t happen because we elect the right people to government positions. Healing won’t happen when those who don’t know God behave better. God will heal our land when his people—the church—confess, pray, seek him and repent.
National healing will start with our churches, or it won’t happen.
Will it start with your church?
Will it start with you?
