Lord, Heal Our Land
2 Chronicles 7 : 14, 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 heal their land.
The key to
revival and to the restoration of our country is found in today’s scripture.
The Bible gives us many accounts of God’s people calling upon the Lord when they were in affliction and distress. They
interceded to God concerning the plight of His people, and God answered their
pleas for help with great delivering power.
In Exodus 2,
the children of Israel cried out because of the hardships the new king of Egypt
forced on them. God heard their prayers and sent Moses to deliver them. In
Exodus 17, the Israelites had to fight against Amalek and his people. While
Joshua and his warriors fought against Amalek, Moses stood on the hill above
the battle and lifted his arms toward God. As long as Moses held his hands up
before the Lord, Joshua and the Israelites would prevail. Nevertheless, when
Moses grew tired and his arms dropped, Amalek would prevail over the
Israelites.
In Genesis
18, the Lord told Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
However, after hearing God’s plans, Abraham began to pray to the Lord on behalf
of the righteous people who might live in these cities. He asks the Lord if He
will destroy the righteous with the wicked. To this question, God tells Abraham
that He would stay His hand of judgment against these wicked and vile cities
for the sake of only ten righteous souls.
I’ve given
you only three accounts of where someone interceded (prayed) to God, and God
answered their prayers with deliverance in each situation. However, there are
many more instances, in both the Old and New Testaments, where God heard and
answered the prayers of His people and delivered them from evil and possible
annihilation.
As children
of God, we have been given the power to have our prayers heard by the Lord of
all creation through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18 that
we have the power, through prayer, to affect change on the earth. We can pray
for God’s will to be done and for Satan’s will to be stopped, and our prayers
will change the outcome of situations. The key to answered prayer is believing.
Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe
that you receive them, and you will have them.”
As
Christians, you and I have the privilege and the responsibility to go before
the Lord in prayer whenever we see evil at work in our land. If we pray
fervently and believe that God hears and answers our prayers, we will see God’s
hand at work on our behalf.
For nine
years, I have had the honor of being a part of Awake America prayer gatherings.
The sole purpose of these prayer gatherings is to pray for revival in America.
We also lift up our leaders on every level of government, as well as the
presbytery (ministers) of the churches in America. There’s no doubt that we
need God to move in America again and to bring a spiritual awakening to the
church. America is also in need of a revival of true repentance.
Here’s the
best part! You can be a part of this growing prayer movement in your town or
city. Currently, we meet in the following counties: Towns, Union, Fannin,
Gilmer, Hall, and Cherokee, N.C. It’s an honor to stand together in prayer with
the elected and appointed leaders of our communities and call on the Lord in
prayer on behalf of our great country. For more information about Awake America in
your area, contact Lydia Long, prayer coordinator at 706-374-6175 X – 302.
Prayer is
the Key,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Pastor Asa Dockery
