What is God’s recipe for healing for our land?

What is happening to our nation before our very eyes? Have there been similar situations in the past? Are things going to bet better or worse? What can we do to influence the outcome?

Consider, in 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. On September 23, 1857 began noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late.

The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily. God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation. It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City for a season.

Could God heal our land today? What would it take to bring it about?

2 Chronicles 7:14

(New International Version)

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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

(Amplified Bible)

14If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Many of God’s promises are conditional – IF is a well-used word in the Bible and it places conditions on God’s promises.

God’s “iffy” promises are only “effective” if you fulfill the “if”, the conditions. Around 1,500 verses in the Bible contain the word “if”, and there are lots of other promises in Scripture that do not use the word “if” but contain conditions (like our John 3:16 example). According to Quick verse Bible software, the word “if” is used 1,784 times in 1,589 verses within the NIV. In the KJV (post 1820 version), the word “if” is used 1,595 times in 1,420 verses.

What are the conditions on which the promise depends?

1. The first condition: Humble

James 4: 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Humble = “to bring low”

The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church, grieved at the blindness of the Church, grieved at the corruption in the Church, grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil. He is embarrassed that the Church folks no longer cry in their despair before a devil-ridden, sin-mad society, “Why could we not cast him out?” (Matt. 17:19). Leonard Ravenhill

To fulfill the first condition, we must not be content to pretend that everything is fine. We must declare a fast, a solemn assembly, we must know in our guts that if God does not intervene, we are ruined.

2. The second condition : Pray

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” — Abraham Lincoln

“One can believe intellectually in the efficacy of prayer and never do any praying.” –Catherine Marshall

“Those who do not believe do not pray. This is a good functional definition of faith. Faith prays, unbelief does not.” –John A. Hardon

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Mt 18:19

To fulfill the second condition, we must actually pray for our country, together with other believers whenever possible. Find a prayer meeting or start one. It does not require any decree, accreditation, or credentials to start a prayer meeting (my fourteen year old son has been facilitating one at his school for two years now during lunch time and if a fourteen year old can do it, you can do it.). Just start meeting and don’t quit.

3. The third condition: Seek

“Seek My Face” In the Amplified

– “Seek, Crave, Require of necessity My Face”

“I began to live as if there were no one save (except) God and me in the world.“ Brother Lawrence

To fulfill the third condition, we must develop or rediscover our emotional dependence on God. He created us for fellowship with Him, He has things to say, He wants to prompt us to pray throughout the day. If we are saturated with our IPODS, blackberry, the latest TV Sitcom, the www.drudgereport.com , and yes talk radio..how can we hear Him. Elijah had to push past the  wind, the earthquake and the fire to hear the still small voice. We need that still small voice today more than ever.

4.  The Fourth Condition: Turn

Eph 4:20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

To fulfill the fourth condition, we must again hate sin, love correction, and repent repeatedly and often. We must develop a pattern of not grieving the Holy Spirit so we can be powerful in prayer.

Consider the conditional aspects of the promise found in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

What was promised? (Healing of our land: Moral, Financial, Spiritual)

Who must fulfill the conditions? (It says “My people”, not my leaders)

What happens if the people don’t meet any of the conditions? (What happens if you don’t pour vinegar on baking soda? Nothing)

What happens if they meet only part of the conditions? (What happens if you pour water on baking soda? Nothing significant)

Is there a chance that they meet all the conditions but nothing would happen? (No, God is faithful.)

What were the Guidelines for the Fulton Street Prayer Meetings?

The Prayer meetings which convened for one hour with people coming and going according to their schedules:

• Meeting began with a song, usually a commonly known hymn.

• A passage of Scripture was read.

• Prayer requests were written out and read by the moderator or they were given verbally during the meeting.

• No one was to pray or speak more than 5 minutes, nor more than twice per meeting. A moderator would ring a bell after a person had prayed for 5 minutes.