So last time we started looking at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and how it pertains to Becoming God’s Man Ministries with asking the question of are you a Christian? Today we will continue to look at this verse and see what we are called to do as God’s people in this promise. So lets take a look at the verse from the beginning, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” So as God’s people, those called by His name we are told to do four things as a part of this promise.

Humble Themselves

The first thing we are to do is to humble ourselves. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and stand in the way of God blessing us. This is why the author mentions humbling ourselves first. When we are thinking that everything is all about us, we are blind to everything else going on around us; we become blind to the work that God is constantly doing in our lives and ignore the blessings. You see when we humble ourselves, we stop looking at ourselves and realize there is someone greater than us. It is not until then do we realize all the blessings God has been and is constantly bestowing upon us. But the issue is also before we can do any of the other actions the author mentions we have to humble ourselves; for unless we are humble we will never pray, seek His face, or turn from our wicked ways.

Pray

The next thing we are told is to pray. The simple answer to what exactly is prayer, is that it is our way of talking with God. It how we confess our sins to Him but also how we ask Him for our needs. The thing is even though God in his sovereignty knows what we need, He still wants to hear from us, like any father He wants us to come to Him and ask. James tells us that if we lack wisdom to ask God and He will grant it to us.

Seek His Face

So we have seen that we need to first realize it is not all about us, then we need to open lines of communication; now we need to seek God’s face. What the author is getting at is now that we realize it is not about us we need to realize who should be the focus of our attention, God. Everything we do should be centered around God and His will. To seek His face would be to picture God standing next to you at all times and with every action, every thought, every word you look to see if He has a pleased expression on His face or if it is one of disappointment; just like a child is always wanting to please his earthly father, we should be seeking to please our heavenly father.

Turn From Our Wicked Ways

The next step in this progression is that of turning from our wicked ways, repenting of our sin. This is literally doing a complete about face in regards to sin. While in the flesh such an action is impossible as this is how we are naturally inclined. However, once we have been adopted into God’s family we were given the Holy Spirit, who helps us along this progression of humbleness to repentance. You see as we seek God’s face our desires change to reflect God’s desires; making it easier to turn from our wicked ways as they no longer hold power over us, our hearts no longer desire them but long for God’s will.

Now that we have seen what as those called by His name are to do in regards to this promise we will next time look at what God promises He will do for us.