Rule 3: The Need for Earnest Prayer
The Rules of Revival • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsRevival comes when God's people seek him in earnest prayer.
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Reading: 2 Chronicles 7:11-16
11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished.
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.
13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
14 if 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
Pray
If you take a class or study the subject of how people communicate, you’ll find that it’s much more complicated than simply talking and listening. One person begins by transmitting a message - they say some words in a particular order. But they do more than that. They give variations of pitch, tone, and rhythm that add additional information. They use gestures and facial expressions that add complexity to the message.
And then there’s the other person - the one receiving the message. They have to take in all these things and interpret what the original person means. Is this person telling the truth or being sarcastic? Are they happy or mad? Do they know what they’re actually saying or are they just blabbing? Do they really mean it? They use their own observations and life experiences to try to figure out what the other person is really saying. Then, they send a message back - feedback - using their own words, vocal tones, gestures, and expressions. Communication is incredibly complicated. No wonder we often get it wrong!
While the theory of communication shows just how much complexity is going on, we know from our everyday experience that real communication is a two-way street. It takes two (at minimum) to communicate, and both parties must be actively involved. If you don’t believe me, try talking to a disinterested teenager!
When we communicate with God, that’s what we call prayer. Prayer is, very simply, communication with God. Notice - it’s not talking to God. It’s not just us talking and God listening. It’s not even God talking to us - where he’s the only one participating. Prayer is when we and God are actively involved in communication with one another.
We’ve been talking about revival, and we’ve discussed that revival comes when (and only when) we seek God in humbled repentance and in biblical priority. When we are willing to humbly repent of our sins and give God’s Word priority, we place ourselves in position to receive revival. Today we’ll see a third necessary component if we seek God’s Spirit among us:
Revival Comes When God’s People Seek Him in Earnest Prayer
Revival Comes When God’s People Seek Him in Earnest Prayer
2 Chronicles 7 shows us the way that our earnest prayers invite God’s Spirit to revive us. We’re going to focus in on two verses.
When we think of revival we often look at verse 14:
14 if 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
But if you look at the first word of verse 14, you’ll notice that it’s not capitalized. Verse 14 is only half of a sentence that begins in verse 13. And verse 13 is a commonly overlooked passage, but one that is vital for us to look at:
13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
Revival often starts this way - in the midst of terrible circumstances. The fact that revival often comes in tough times has something to teach us:
Sometimes God Causes Us to Face Difficulties
Sometimes God Causes Us to Face Difficulties
The difficulties listed in verse 13 are all things that Solomon had prayed for in the prior chapter:
26 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,
28 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,
Notice about these difficulties:
They are all out of our control - the difficulties mentioned (drought, locusts, pestilence) are all beyond our abilities to control. We cannot do anything to prevent, lessen, or avoid them.
They are all within God’s plan - even though we cannot control them, God can and does. Look again at the action verbs God uses in verse 13:
13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
In each and every case, God not only allows these things to happen - he causes them! God shuts the heavens, commands the locusts, and sends the pestilence. He does it! That means that every difficulty you face is ordained by God. Every. Single. One. They are all part of his plan.
They are all a result of our sins - while we may not be able to control the difficulties we face, these hardships were the direct result of sin against God. Just like getting a pizza delivered to your house is the direct result of you calling the pizza place and ordering some pies, going through the turmoil of God’s punishment is a direct result of our sins against God.
That leads us to a second point:
Even in Those Difficulties, It Is Never Too Late to Turn Back to God
Even in Those Difficulties, It Is Never Too Late to Turn Back to God
The first part of verse 14 shows us what turning back to God looks like:
14 if 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
We must recognize our heritage - “who are called by my name”
We must humble ourselves - “would humble themselves”
We must seek God - “pray and seek my face”
We must repent from our sins - “and turn from their wicked ways”
And here is the good news:
When We Seek God with All Our Hearts, We Will Find Him
When We Seek God with All Our Hearts, We Will Find Him
There are several times in Scripture where this promise blossoms. One is in Jeremiah 29. In his letter to the exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah encourages them to live full lives in exile, because God’s plan was not for their harm but their good. Then he says:
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
God does not punish us just to make us suffer. He brings punishment to refine us - to make us more like him. Which means that God’s punishments, those difficulties we find ourselves facing, are not his means of getting rid of us. They are his chosen method to restore us - to revive us. But only if we seek him in earnest prayer. When we do, the promises of 2 Chronicles 7:14 come to life:
14 if 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
God promises:
I will hear
I will forgive
I will heal
When we seek God earnestly, with our whole hearts, God promises that we will find him. If that’s not a reason to hope for revival amid dark days, then I don’t know what is.
Communication requires both us and them. Prayer is no different. God has done his part - he has promised and he will be faithful to that promise. Now it’s time for us to do ours.