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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
“If my people who are called by my name will 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 hear their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
When you encounter problems in life, do they tend to get you anxious? Does it seem that you cannot forget the hurt someone has caused you? How do you solve them? What about the issues our cities and towns face? What about the states and the nations? We have available a tool that can cause improvement in our outlook and in our world. King Solomon, the wisest man in the world heard from God that we should pray.
Recently we made a change in our home, one that required a technician to do the work. When we made the appointment, we were told he could come between 1:00,3:00 in the afternoon. We agreed to that. On the day of the scheduled work, I received a call from the technician at 1:30. He would be at our home to do some inside work at 2:30. I casually asked how long this task would take. The young man replied, “From four to six hours.” We had to hurry and get our lunch. I had a monthly meeting to attend at 5:30; one that t is a priority for some of us. I had to notify someone who could help me get word to the leader that I might not make it. The work went very smoothly. The technician was gone by around 4:30. When I walked into the church fellowship hall, the leader was glad I could make it. “I’ve been praying for you.” I filled her in on our situation. They had the same work done at their house on Saturday and theirs had turned into a six hour task.
Now, it’s my turn to pray for a friend. The phone woke me this morning. It was my Sunday school teacher. He had to take his wife, one of my closest friends, to the Emergency Room the day before. The short version is she is in ICU. She has had yet another health complication crop into her life. This is her third hospitalization in recent memory. All I have been able to do today is pray for my friend and her family.
”If my people, who are called by my name. . . “ These are the words of God. He presents a condition- If. He talks about people who profess to belong to God. As His children, He expects us to communicate with Him.
” . . . humble themselves. . . “ We need to remember our place-we are human beings made in the image of God. We are a people who have to learn that we are not the dynamos we think we are, that we are sinful persons. We have to recognize that He is the one in control of all things.
” . . . and pray. . . “ God told Solomon that once the people recognized who they are and who He is, they can begin to present their requests to Him.
” . . . seek My face. . . .” God desires that we be sincere about what we pray for. God told Jeremiah He would be found when we would look for Him with our whole heart. When people confess to others, they have to look those people in their eyes. God tells us to seek His face.
” . . . turn from their wicked ways.” God wants us to repent. It is his desire that we confess our sins and then turn around and walk in the opposite direction we have been going. Jesus exemplified this when he told the woman who had been caught in adultery to ‘go and sin no more. ‘
”. . . I will hear from heaven. . . “ God says He will hear our requests once we humble ourselves, converse with Him, get serious about dealing with our sins This past Sunday morning it was discovered that our church had been vandalized. I received the call from a dear friend. Somehow in my communicating the need for prayer about this, one couple thought that church service had been suspended. What happened was the police wouldn’t let anyone into the building until they finished their investigation. The service started about fifteen minutes late. (I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO THE COUPLE)
” . . . will forgive their sin. . . “ God doesn’t file away a list of our sins for future reference-he forgives us. Has someone held something against you and brought it up at his or her convenience to embarrass you? It is no fun and it’s not God’s way of handling sin. Could it be that we need to adopt God’s way of dealing with wrongs done to us?
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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