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II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We are only one small word away from the Lord healing our land. The word “if” is a simple conjunction that introduces a conditional clause. In this case, it introduces a contingent promise from the Lord Himself. Based on the rules of logic and grammar, the Lord WILL heal our land IF we meet the four conditions outlined in the first half of this verse. If the conditions are met, then the outcome is certain. Yet, meeting the conditions is up to us.

So what happens if we fail to meet those conditions? This verse and the rules of logic and grammar do not prevent the Lord from fulfilling this promise without us. Yet, the use of the word “if” carries with it a strong implication. In fact, Merriam-Webster defines “if” in the following way: it is “used to say that something MUST happen BEFORE another thing can happen. (emphasis added)” In other words, the conditions are necessary for the outcome to be met … if not, then not.

Christians are left with two choices: 1) meet the contingencies and be assured of the outcome, or 2) fail to meet the contingencies and risk an uncertain outcome at best or preclude the outcome at worst.   It is far better to travel down the path of “if” instead of risking a continuation of the status quo that is characterized by “if not”.

PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY OUR ROLE IN THE CONTINGENT PROMISES OF GOD. If we meet God’s contingencies, then the Lord promises nationwide revival. If.

Zephaniah 1:7 “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.”

Zephaniah 1:14 “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.”

Like Judah in Zephaniah’s day, our nation teeters on the brink of judgment. The day of the Lord is at hand. The great day of the Lord is near. We do not know exactly how far away we are from wrath, but when it comes, it is likely to come quickly. The proverbial tipping point, described in these previous posts, is precipitously looming as early as the next tick of the clock:
https://prayatlunch.us/wrestling/
https://prayatlunch.us/tipping-point/

What are we doing about it? We should act now in the same way as we would if we knew that tomorrow was literally too late. In reality, it may be. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD ACT TODAY AS IF OUR NATION’S DOWNFALL WAS IMMINENT. The day of the Lord may be at hand, and our lack of faithfulness is only beckoning our doom.

Zephaniah 2:2-3 “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.”

The book of Zephaniah is largely about impending judgment. With God’s judgment looming on the horizon, the prophet stressed the need for God’s people to be faithful before it was too late. There were things that God’s people could do to avoid judgment, and to protect themselves and their land.   Yet, those things could only be done before the judgment began. If they waited, they risked facing the prevailing wrath that was coming soon.

Specifically, those things that the prophet directed them to do to avoid judgment were in line with the truths of II Chronicles 7:14. God’s people were directed to be humble and prayerful, expectant and repentant. They were to seek God, thus seeking righteousness and meekness. In doing so they could stay judgment; in doing so they could hide from God’s anger. Yet, they must do so before God’s judgment was upon them.

We do not know when it will be too late for our nation to avoid judgment and wrath. All we know is that we have a mandate now to be faithful. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PRAYERFULLY AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOW GOD NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. In a nation potentially in its eleventh-hour, our prayerful faithfulness may be overdue if we wait until tomorrow.

Jonah 3:1-3 “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey.”

Upon God’s second call to him, Jonah answered and complied. The difference between the first and the second call was a little bit of time and a lot of turmoil … for Jonah himself. In the interval between God’s first and second calls, Jonah experienced a tempestuous storm, he put those around him in peril, he lost a lottery, he faced condemnation from his shipmates, he was cast into the sea, he was swallowed by a great fish, and he was vomited onto dry ground. In the end, God’s will was done in spite of Jonah’s initial disobedience.

God doesn’t need us to fulfill His will for our land. Yet like Jonah, if we refuse to answer God’s call then we will be the ones who suffer the most. Indeed, our refusal to arise to answer God’s call in our land will cause us personal turmoil. As Mordecai reminded Esther, without her “then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed” (Esther 4:14).

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD IMMEDIATELY ARISE AND ANSWER GOD’S CALL TO US IN THIS LAND. We should never force the Lord to ask twice.

Jonah 1:2-3 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

Jonah made a great mistake upon receiving God’s call. Because he was prideful, prejudiced, presumptuous, and pietistic he did not believe that the Ninevites were worth saving. He had been called by God for such a time as that, and erred because he fled from God’s call.

We may think that our nation had drifted beyond the point where God’s mercy is likely. We may not think that revival is possible. We may not think that our nation is worth saving. We may not acknowledge God’s call, ignoring the truth that we have been placed here for such a time as this.

When we resist nationwide revival, it may be because our spirit is prideful, prejudiced, presumptuous, or pietistic. Regardless of the reason, we must not flee from our clear responsibilities as Christian citizens, the most basic of which is prayer for our nation and its leaders. We may not be as overt about fleeing from this call as was Jonah, but when we ignore it we are fleeing from God nonetheless. Our lack of immediate obedience should be considered nothing else than disobedience.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO ANSWER AND NOT FLEE FROM GOD’S CALL TO CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. Arise American Christians, throughout this great land.