Has anybody else noticed what seems to trouble me about how prayer events for coronavirus are being promoted? Several different people were excited and sent me information about different prayer events led or attended by popular Christian ministers on local and national levels. Different people are using II Chronicles 7:14 as their rallying cry. If we look at II Chronicles 7:13-15 in context and the other scripture before and after God is speaking to the Jewish people in covenant relationship with Him. II Chronicles 7:13-15: Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and 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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.
What doesn't sit right with me is that in the New Covenant are the temples of the Holy Spirit. I see the rallying cry of II Chronicles with prayer being pulled out as a way to stop coronavirus with the God Bless America in spite of sin running rampant in and out of the church without an emphasis on humbling ourselves and repenting form our sin. Shouldn't the act of humbling ourselves, making sure our temples are spotless and sinless precede approaching a holy God with our requests? Instead I see people wanting to look anointed screaming and commanding blessings upon us while curing coronavirus.
I am not convinced either way whether or not coronavirus is judgement from God but why not include humility and repentance in this prayer movement? We have lots of talk about the economy among Christians but how about the fact that covetousnesss is often mentioned as a sin with fornication yet almost never talked about in messages, especially from ministers with extravagant lifestyles? Should we command God to bless the majority of Christians in the middle to upper class who have houses much bigger than necessary, transportation way above the needs to get to where we need to go while not tithing or at least giving to the work of God out of a love to Him if you do not believe in New Testament tithing as a necessity? Lifestyles that demand extra hours of work then recreation for exhaustion at the expense of a devotional life with Christian service?
Sometimes I hesitate to deal with the obvious because immediately the tag legalistic, negative and judgmental come up. However, whoever pastors in his or her hometown sees the decline in the Christian walk of people who we and others know on a personal basis over the last 40 years. |
Friendly Face Posts: 434 4/24/20 7:12 am
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