Calling A City To Pray
Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I have heard it said that, "the only lesson we learn from history is that we do not learn from history." This is probably, mostly true!

As we look back on the history of the nation of Israel, it would be wise for us to learn from their pattern of walking with God. There were many cycles of Sin, Slavery, Supplication, and Salvation in thier national history!

God knew this well, and in 2 Chronicles 7 (at the dedication prayer of the Solomon's Temple) He has this to say,

2 Chron 7:12-14 - Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard Your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land or if I send pestilence among My people, 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 and forgive their sins.

God gives to them this promise, knowing that there will be coming seasons of judgement when the nation has turned from Him. God has always used His judgements to turn people back to Him! In these seasons, when there "is no rain", then He offers this solution...

"If my people...humble themselves, pray,seek My face, and turn from wickedness...I will heal their land." This is an amazing declaration, and should give us great hope in our day!

The first condition is humility. The question for Israel, and I would say us as well, is, "how far from Sin will we step into slavery before we allow ourselves to be humbled to the point of Supplication?"

In Amos 7:7 God makes this declaration...
“ Behold, I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore. "

A plumg line is a string with a pointed weight on the end. The string is held still until the weight stops swinging, then you have an exact vertical line. This would be used and still is on construction projects, such as keeping a wall "plumb".

The problem with building a wall, is that your eye is not accurate enough. It looks fine for a couple of feet, but as you go higher and longer, any imperfections become magnified and the structural soundness is greatly compromised! You need a reference that is absolute!

In a given culture, the transition from Godliness to UnGodliness is so gradual over time, that the people are like the proverbial frog in the water pot. If you place a frog in boiling water, he will instantly leap out, however if you place it in cool water and heat it gradually, the frog will boil to death in the water.

In the cycle of Sin, Slavery, Supplication, and Salvation, the second step is God's mercy to help us loosen our grip on Sin! There is a profound need in our lives to hold ourselves to the "plumb line" of the Word!

Here in Reading, we have a profound need for God to "send rain" and bring deliverance, not only to the lost, but to the church. In all these things, the remedy is still the same, "humbly, seeking the face of God in prayer and repentance".

This August we will be hosting a week of night and day prayer! The meeting will start Sunday August 17th (the day after The Call DC ((see www.thecall.com)) for details) and will end August 24th at 9 PM. This will be a season of returning to the Lord as individuals and as a city!

The prayer room will be open for regularly scheduled meetings and will be used for private prayer times the rest of the week. Individuals can check the availability on website and email 24-7-7@rhop.net to reserve an hour of prayer.

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posted by Chad at 11:07 AM