A Call to Prayer
The Answer to a People’s Problems:
At a time when God’s people were very close with Him, just after they had completed construction and furnishing of the great Temple in Jerusalem under Solomon’s leadership, the Lord blessed their place of prayer. But at the same time, God forsaw a future period when their relationship might become strained, when He and His blessing might seem distant, as problems mounted even in the most blessed of nations. He knew His people would need guidance in a time like that as well.
So the Lord appeared to Solomon, saying: “If I close heaven so that there is no rain, if I command the locust to devour the land, if I send pestilence among my people; and if my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NAB)
Recently, that particular passage of scripture has been brought up by several pastors and church leaders with whom I have been meeting. The two most recent mentions came from Pastor Dan Lindsey (formerly of Glendoveer Baptist Church) and Pastor Dennis Brown (Deer Island Community Church). Both men proposed the same thing: the prescription for our nation’s problems is prayer. Prayers of humility and repentance, prayers seeking restoration of relationship, prayers seeking pardon and revival, prayers from God’s people to their Creator and sustainer. It is true that 2 Chronicles 7 details the relationship between God and Israel many centuries ago. But as God never changes, the prescription for the problems of the world remain the same: a return to right relationship through the prayers of His people. Certainly there are other God-ordained actions and activities which may positively impact the racial divide in this country, or assist in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, or help victims of fires and hurricanes and pestilence…But all such actions are secondary to the need for humble, penitent prayer, realigning God’s people with His will, whatever form that may take.
It was a blessing to be part of such prayer Monday at the NWxNW ministry leaders gathering in Deer Island Community Church. Incoming InFaith Field Director Nathan Bath joined me and pastors Scott Thompson (Holbrook Bible Church), Mat Neahring (Shiloh Basin), Steven Boyle (Columbia Community), Brad Gentry (Woodland Park), and Dennis Brown (Deer Island) for a time of fellowship and focused prayer for the needs to the ministries in the far northwest portion of our field, as well as in the nation as a whole. Just a few days prior, pastor Lindsey had called me at home and made a simple request: call people to pray – for the nation, for the healing of our land, for the problems and protests in downtown Portland. And so I promised to do that in this week’s memo to all of you.
Can you set aside the time to talk with God this week? Can you church leaders call your congregations to a special time of focused prayer of the type described in 2 Chronicles 7:14? Lindsey suggests you can make it even more meaningful by setting aside a special time after the end of your regular services this coming Sunday, or setting a specific time for this specific purpose whether in the regular service or not – a time where God’s people humble themselves and open their hearts and loosen their tongues to repent, to seek God’s face and to seek His healing of our land. Surely, some in your congregation are desirous of concrete action, or pursuing political solutions, thinking that an election or a revolution or a crackdown on lawbreakers is what is needed to bring about change. And those things may be part of God’s answer, but we may never know, if we are unwilling to humble ourselves and submit to Him first (individually and corporately). Humility and prayer are God’s primary prescription to return to a time of healing. Let’s seek Him together this Sunday.
It was wonderful to again be able to share the Word with the congregation of the Carver Church on Sunday, and I am looking forward to preaching the next two weeks at Shiloh Basin. Lord willing, I will have more info on upcoing September InFaith events in next week’s memo, including the Sandy Area Pastors’ Breakfast, the Portland Area Pastors’ Prayer, the next NWxNW fellowhip, the upcoming Sunday School Fellowship board meeting, and my trip to the InFaith Refresh conference in New Jersey.
May God bless you as you humbly and prayerfully seek His face.
Tom Hiscox, NW Oregon Area Missionary
thiscox@infaith.org