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Prayer That Moves God to Act in History

Posted by Mike Mccauley
Mike Mccauley
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on Sunday, 15 July 2012
in Pastors' Corner
KingdomView, Vol. IV, Issue 21     Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14
Series: The Spirit of the Ministry and Prayer (Part 2 of 9)

In their book Breaking The Idols of Your Heart (1998), Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III say, “Different words and different actions will produce different effects.” Subsequently, a heart rightly informed by biblical truth and then acted upon will produce change in one’s life. Albert Einstein said, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you are like me, you have been there and done that. Likewise, the contemporary idols of this life (e.g., un-tempered pleasure, power, materialism, and self-centeredness) have sidetracked many. These and other cunning distractions can capture a person’s heart and spiritually bankrupt them. Thus my thesis: A changed heart can produce a changed life. Accordingly, in their book, Parenting is Heart Work (2006), Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller say, “God is interested in hearts because that is where real change takes place.” Since God is in the transformation business, one of the vehicles that He uses to bring about heart change in our lives is prayer. In Solomon’s dedicatory prayer of the Temple (2 Chronicles 6:22-42), God promised to move His hand in history to facilitate that change through the healing of the land if four actions are taken by us in response to Solomon’s prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14).

1.      God wants a heart that is humble. God is looking for tender obedient hearts that will follow His instructions. The Bible declares that pride comes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18a). Pride is the converse of humbleness. God told Solomon that if the people succumbed to pride that it would led them to apostasy; however, if they were to humble themselves in genuine repentance, He would heal them. We can present our hearts before God in two aspects: like cement or butter. Both respond to the sun in different manners. Cement hardens under the sun’s rays and butter melts. Likewise, our hearts should melt (or humble itself) to the authority of Scripture. The Bible says, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you” (James 4:10).

2.      God wants a heart that is prayerful. Having prayer as a top priority in life is indicative of a prayerful heart (Luke 18:1). The apostles had this mindset and made it a top priority. In Acts 6, prayer and the proclamation of the Word were paramount in their lives and they would allow nothing to hinder this practice (Acts 6:4). A heart that is willing to stand in interposition for others through prayer is important. The prophet Samuel said to Israel, “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I instruct you in the good and the right way” (1 Samuel 12:23 ESV). In essence, Samuel understood the importance of engaging in intercessory prayer on the behalf of others. He even considered it a sin not to do so. In addition, Abraham demonstrated the power of intercessory prayer when he stood in interposition on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:28-33). God would eventually destroy these two cities because He could not find ten righteous people within them. This conclusion is a possible indictment on Lot concerning evangelism. Lot, his wife and two daughters made four, and all that was needed to spare the city of Sodom is six more souls. Evidently, it appears that Lot may have been remiss in sharing the good news about Jehovah, which should have been bolstered by prayer.

3.      God wants a heart that desires to seek His face. A heart that seeks the face of God is one that is dependent upon Him. This person recognizes that God is his source and that His Word is sufficient for every area of life. Job recognized God’s sufficiency and he sought God’s favor continuously. We see this mindset evident in his life as he spent time in prayer for his family; Job was a worshiper (Job 1:5). Paul spent quality time in prayer before God for he recognized that “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Ephesians 1:15-23; Acts 17:28).

4.      Finally, God wants a heart that chooses to turn from wrong to right. The principle being expressed in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is that “Any person, regardless of race or geography, can come to the Lord with a repentant heart and find forgiveness (see 6:23-33; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:2).” The way to eternal life has been paved by Christ’s sacrificial death at Calvary. To appropriate this awesome gift we must believe on Christ—I believe that Jesus Christ is my sin-bearer and I place my complete trust in Him by faith alone (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8, 9). For those who have already accepted Christ as Savior and have blown it in some area of your Christian walk with Christ, then your challenge is to repent of your sin to renew your fellowship with Him (1 John 1:5). Again, God told Solomon, if His people would turn from their wicked ways (repent), then He would hear from heaven and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14d).

In conclusion, God does intervene in the affairs of men, especially when genuine repentance is evidence. This truth is seen in the book of Jonah. Jonah receives instructions from God to testify to Nineveh, but he initially refuses to obey God. Through a series of challenges orchestrated by God, the reluctant prophet complies. Nineveh is a major city of the Assyrians, a cruel and warlike people who were longtime enemies of Israel. This explains Jonah’s reluctance to preach to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh would repent because of Jonah’s preaching and their city was spared God’s judgment. Jesus affirmed this result (Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32). Genuine repentance expressed through prayer moves the hand of God.

Reflection

1. The people of God should cultivate an active prayer life for it is a major means of communing with their heavenly Father.

2. Prayer is a wonderful way to seek God’s guidance and direction, especially when coupled with the study of His Word.

3. A genuine repentant heart can always experience God’s forgiveness.

Go Deeper

Additional Reading:

1. Andrew Murray, The Believers Prayer Life.

2. Tom White, City-Wide Prayer Movements: One Church, Many Congregations.

3. Charles G. Finney’s, Answers to Prayer.

4. Clarion Classics, The Kneeling Christian.

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