My Thoughts Wesley Crawford

We Were Told to Humble Ourselves and Pray

What do you do, when you can't see anything good in your circumstances? God's Word says, we're to thank Him and praise Him in everything. Paul said, he's learned to be contempt with much and with nothing. I know what this sounds like to many of you, I know the thoughts in your minds, because they've been in mine. Hey this is a day by day battle for me. I've asked God many times, how I'm supposed to be thankful, when I didn't know what I'm going to eat or where I'm going to sleep.

Now is a time for us to be on our faces before God. We need to listen to Him, say nothing and think nothing, just listen. Then do what He says. If He tells us to pray for a person or a place or the government, then we pray as He says. This is what 2Chronicles 7:14 is talking about.

2Chronicles 7:14 if 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)

"If My people called by My Name", that's us, the ones who are saved. Just because you go to church doesn't mean you're saved, you must have a relationship with the Lord.

We are to "humble ourselves". He wants us to be humble, not arrogant. His Word says, He resists the proud. Our reason for living is to give God the glory through our works and in our praise.

We are told to "pray." Prayer is how we communicate with God, it's how we talk to Him and He talks to us. Our reasons for prayer aren't only to confess our sins, to ask for things, and pray for others, it's also, to hear what He wants to say to us.Our prayers need to be Holy Spirit led. As we spend time with Him in prayer, He is changing us, little by little and the sin in our life becomes less and less.

He also wants us to "seek His face". He wants us to have such a hunger to be with Him, that we'll quietly sit just waiting to hear Him speak and He wants us to do this everyday. He wants our love and our adoration, He wants our worship.

He wants us to "turn from our wicked ways". He wants us to begin living a repentant life, the ultimate goal being no sin in our lives. It isn't impossible for us to stop sinning, but it takes more power than we have. God knew the weakness of the flesh, for this reason He sent His Son. We need to learn to deny ourselves and follow His will to become a new person, a son of God.

In His Word, He tells us what to do and what not to do. We need to spend time with Him in prayer and reading and meditating on His Word. The days are hard and are getting harder. Many people have lost their jobs and their homes, they don't know what to do, they need relief. We should be praying for them, because the day may come when we'll be in the say situation and we'll desperately need relief too.

Father, we need You. Please have mercy on us, because of our stubbornness. We aren't doing what You've told us to do and we're suffering because of it. Please, let us turn from our wicked ways and humble ouselves and pray.

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