Camp Meeting Devotions - Day Twenty-four

 God can do more in days of revival than churches can do in decades of ministry in their own strength. In revival, God convicts people of sin. That is both people in the church and the lost. One true characteristic of this type of move of God is that people repent. There are also salvations. Many salvations. The church gets bolder in their witness. Sinners are less resistant to the gospel. Each one saved is adding more fuel to revival flame. Prayer also fuels revival and sustains it night after night. 

Only God sends revival. It cannot be worked up. It cannot be manufactured. God's people can plan meetings, but they cannot produce supernatural moves of His sovereign will that impacts whole communities and regions. There are conditions that can be met to help the people of God align themselves with His purposes. A check list. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB)
¹⁴  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God desires humility, prayer that seeks Him, and turning away from wickedness. Those are pretty clear-cut conditions of what our responsibilities are.

 Are we humble people? Has spiritual pride crept in so that we appear to be more holy than we really are? Do we work to keep up appearances to those around us? Do we bow the knee at the altar when called to do so, or do we sit stubbornly in the pew more concerned with what others think than what God thinks? Spiritual pride is offensive to the Holy One. He is opposed to proud people. Does that mean that He is opposed to us? Oh that God would break our pride and humble us before Him. 

Do we pray? I mean really spend time seeking the face of God. It is much more common to seek His hand and what He can give us and do for us. To seek His face is to get to know Him. To draw nearer. To pursue knowing Him daily. We have our prayer lists, prayer chains, prayer requests, and prayer request cards. Do we take the time to linger long in His presence to seek Him? To relentlessly pursue a closer relationship? This kind of praying takes time. Much more time than we are willing to devote sometimes. As a result, we have pews filled with people who come to worship a God they really do not know. Therefore, worship services can be lackluster. More like watching the show on the stage than us willingly participating in the worship experience. The most devoted worshipers are the ones who seek His face most in private as well as in public. 

We are supposed to turn from our wicked ways. The truth is sometimes we do not turn from wickedness, but intentionally turn toward it and embrace it. We all battle sin. Sinful thoughts. Sinful attitudes. Sinful desires. Sinful actions. Sinful neglect to act. When God sends revival, He turns the spotlight on the dark places hidden from others. He convicts, breaks, uncovers, exposes, and graciously leads us to repentance. He does this to cleanse us. He is much more willing to forgive than His people are willing to repent in admission of our guilt. 

Those are the things we are called to do in order to align ourselves with Him. He is faithful to do His part. He hears from heaven, forgives our sin, and will heal our land. Doesn't our land need healing. A land where wrong is called right and right is labeled as wrong. A land where children are taught about foolish things like gender neutrality and gender shaming at a young age. A land where some school curriculums teach about the freedom for a child to choose a gender identity for themselves. They are not  taught that God determines gender. A land where a man can win women's athletic competitions because he says he is a woman. A land where God and His word are increasingly pushed out of society. We live in a land where pedophilia is celebrated and practiced among elite. A land where the occult is flaunted before our eyes in entertainment. A land where artificial intelligence is increasingly encroaching on our freedoms. A land where greed, corruption, and fraud can get you into office in Washington, DC. A land where our leaders sell us out as a nation to the highest bidders for their personal profit. Need I say anymore. 

We need God to heal our land. We have no other hope. The unrevived church is a contributor to a nation gone astray. While we planned our programs, boosted our attendance, watered down His word, prayed less, and played our religious roles, the nation wandered from God.   We slept on the walls when we were supposed to be keeping watch as the enemy advanced. We as the church have to own our role in what is taking place is society. It happened on our watch. Only a God sent sweeping move can turn things around. Only He can heal our land. May we diligently meet His conditions so that healing comes once again like in the days of old. 

• Search deep within to see if you have spiritual pride. 
• Can your characterize your praying as seeking His face? Do you spend more time seeking His hand?
• Ask God to identify any wicked way you need to turn from. 
• Describe the level of your desire for God to heal our land.