Calling Out

The prescription for revival is unchanged from thousands of years ago, when God spoke to Solomon in the book of 2nd Chronicles chapter 7; when He said:
(12b) "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
13 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
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.
15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

As it's been pointed out, there are four conditions for revival here, four conditions that are directed at "My people," God's people - we are invited to 1) humble ourselves - to set aside pride and to bow our hearts before Almighty God.  We are called to 2) pray and 3) seek My face. There is a distinction here: I believe this designates an earnest prayer, prayer with urgency and a willingness to know and do the will of God. And, finally, 4) we are to turn from our wicked ways.  This denotes repentance, possessing a clean heart toward God.  Again, this is directed at "My people."  It demonstrates the critical role we have in seeing the healing of our nation.

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In Ezekiel chapter 18, the Lord is calling to His people in a manner that is consistent with how he deals 
with His people; He says:
29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord God. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

In the craziness, confusion, and uncertainty of the year 2020, Christians from across the country and in front of television and computer screens across America had the opportunity this past weekend to participate in two different events that occurred in the same city on the same day.

Even though The Return, described as a "National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance," and the Washington Prayer March were sponsored by different organizations and planned separately, the outcome of having tens of thousands of people in Washington, DC on the National Mall calling out to God and crying out to God was a unified display of believers who are concerned for their country.  The Return was organized by an advisory board led by author of The Harbinger Jonathan Cahn and Global Strategic Alliance head Kevin Jessip, the Prayer March was sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and led by Franklin Graham.

A CBN.com article quotes Cahn as saying, "We drove God out of our hearts, out of our government, out of our ways, out of laws, out of the education of our children, out of the public squares. Out of our businesses, out of our media, out of our culture, out of our lives. And as we drove Him out, we opened up a vacuum into which came a flood of other gods." Franklin Graham's sister, Anne Graham Lotz, who participated in the opening moments of the event, stated, "When you pray, remember that you are appealing to the highest authority there is," adding, "Nobody can go over His head. He is the highest authority we can appeal to. What he says, is so."  Throughout the day, messages centered on seeking God and the solutions to the enormous challenges that we face as a nation.  

Even President Trump sent a proclamation, which was read by Cahn and Jessup, including these words: "On this inaugural National Day of Prayer and Return, the First Lady and I join millions of Christians here in the United States and around the world in prayer, as we turn our hearts to our Lord and Savior." He added, "Following in our ancestors' footsteps we continue the 'firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence' that provides us enduring strength and reassurance in our times of need."

As attendees of The Return filled a designated space on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol Building, about three hours after the day-long event began, the Washington Prayer March began at the Lincoln Memorial, as Franklin Graham introduced a surprise, as CBN called it:

The first thing Franklin Graham did was introduce a surprise prayer-participant - Vice President Mike Pence. He thanked the massive crowd for doing the best thing they can for their country: lifting it up to God. Then he prayed and blessed the efforts of all there.

There were seven stops during the March, but as CBN noted: "There were prayer goals for each stop along the way...But the throngs were so huge that there was no way for everyone to actually listen to one specific person praying."  The article noted that people gathered in "small circles" in order to pray.

It was a very impressive turnout on what appeared to be a dreary weather day in the nation's capital. Even the Washington Post struck a relatively respectful tone, mentioning "healing" in its headline and stating that Christians gathered on the National Mall, "waving U.S. flags, kneeling in small prayer circles alongside monuments, singing and listening to speakers who called on the nation to come together and heal."

The article said that the two groups "emphasized slightly different objectives but came with a shared focus central to many millions of Christian conservatives: repairing a country they say is in the midst of a spiritual crisis."  It quoted a teacher named Diane Hildner, who said, “We came to pray and heal,” adding, “We want people to be happy again and not worried or afraid, not be afraid of retribution for saying your views. We know our nation is in trouble, so we stand here to pray to our God to heal our nation.”

The Post report featured quotes from other attendees, including two African-American women from Baton Rouge, Laura Guilfo, who heard about the Prayer March through Christian radio, and Carla Augustus.  The story quotes Guilfo as saying, regarding racism, “We look at it from a Christian worldview, not a secular worldview. Evil is now good, and good has become evil,” adding, “There is no ‘social justice.’ There’s just justice.”

There is no doubt that our nation needs healing, and while we can pray for the nation to come together, we have to admit that the Church is having trouble doing that - the body of Christ needs unity.  True unity comes through an expression of the love of God.  We can love our neighbor and pursue peace with our neighbor because He has given us His love.  We are partakers of the divine nature. One of the event attendees stated, “Politics will never get us to unity. It’s only Jesus.”

But, when we come together and pray, incredible things can happen.  But, we have to pray in agreement with one another and pray with contrite hearts.  We have to be repentant, to renounce our individual and corporate sins, and change direction when the Lord calls on us to do so. 

Collectively, we have sown poorly in so many areas, and we are reaping destruction.  But, it's not too late for our nation to turn to God.  We have to make sure that our hearts are right, and that once we pray and confess our sins, we are willing to follow Him.