By Abel Ukachi Amadi

Key Verse: 2 Chronicles 7:14(KJV): “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 is a call to personal and national revival.

“My people” refers to those who are called by God’s name—Christian believers, not just the world at large. They are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Personal Saviour. God says: “Yes, says if My people come humbly, seeking My face, and renouncing their sin then I will hear them, I will heal them, I will forgive them.” If you read your Bible there is no surprise here, the Bible reveals over and over again that God is a God who is very merciful, very forgiving, and who delights in hearing and answering the prayers of His people. There is the requirement of humility before God sends revival.

Pride is the enemy of revival. Humility means, “to bend the knee, to bow down, to be in subjection to.” Humility is when we truly understand how poor and needy we are before God.

Those who are humble know what it means to grieve over their sins and the sins of others.

Simply put, humility means we are utterly dependent on God, which is the opposite of pride. James 4:16 tells us that, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Both individually and as a Church there is a need to set aside our pride and humble ourselves. We must be willing to get on our faces before God, come to the cross of Christ with nothing, but ourselves, and cry out to Him for a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit on our lives and out to the world.

Prayer brings down revival. To pray means to “ask” when you want God to do something for you and for others. The sovereign God has ordained prayer, as the tool to get His work done, and He works in accord with the praying of His people and His own sovereign will. We as individuals and the Church must pray. All the major revivals have come because of believers who were serious enough to cry out to God in prayer. When we seek God’s face in sincerity, there will be outpour of revival. God said: “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Too often, we seek the hand of God, which represents His works, instead of the face of God, which represents His nature and who He really is. When we seek His face, we see His holiness and love, which exposes our sin and depravity and selfishness. When we seek His face, we come with adoration and praise and worship, and we are changed and want to love Him more dearly and walk with Him more intimately. When we seek His face, we begin to hear His voice and discover His love and mercy that pardon us of all our sins.

We must turn away from our wicked ways to experience revival. The Psalmist said: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened,” (Psalm 66:18). If we want to experience the presence of God that changes our lives and the world, we need to get rid of sin and repent from our wicked ways. God hates sin and all forms of wickedness, whether it is abortion, sexual sins, lying, cheating, drunkenness, drug abuse, hatred, jealousy, envy and fits of rage. And He is not pleased with a Church that refuses to stand out against the many great evils of our day. Then God will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Evangelist Dwight L. Moody said that when God’s people fulfill His conditions, He “brings Heaven within speaking distance.”

• Today’s nugget: Humility precedes revival. Prayer Lord I repent from my sinful ways.

Prayer lines: 08033299824. E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.