It is the cry of helplessness and dependence on God for His help and
deliverance.
I am all in favor of teaching and encouraging our children to
develop appropriate confidence and self-reliance, but we must be
careful not to go too far and somehow push them toward smugness
and arrogance. I think that’s exactly what we do when we underscore
the sins of those around us and declare how bad “they” are without
connecting with the sinful inclination to “wander” that is in all of us.
We isolate ourselves. We erect our Plexiglas walls of protection
and separation from “those” unbelievers and then toss our “gospel”
grenades of criticism and denunciation over the walls at them, all the
while leveraging the grace of God to feed a sense of self-righteousness.
A humble heart, however, first acknowledges its own life of sin.
The second requirement is to “pray.”God’s power is released through
the believing prayers of His people. When we are in the midst of judg-
ment, that is not the time to “roll out our strategy” and hurl accusa-
tions at the “sinners in our land.” It is a time for earnest prayer.
Let me ask a few questions. Are you and your family praying for
our country? Are you praying for non-Christians to come to the
Savior? Have you gotten so angry and disgusted with the ways of the
“unrighteous” that you have forgotten that the only way they are going
to change is if God changes them?
One reason why there is no compelling sense of mission in some
of our Christian homes, I believe, is because our prayers are self-serv-
ing. Think about it. When we spend so much time praying about “our
needs” and so little time praying for lost people, are we not being far
too concerned about ourselves? If we prayed for unbelievers and for
the conditions of our land, then, I believe God would give us His heart
for lost people and show us how to reach them. It begins by dropping
to our knees on their behalf.
The third requirement is to “seek My face.”This is an interesting
expression. It implies a passionate, “prioritized” search for God, to
find out what He is up to. In other words, whenever we sense danger,
we should drop everything and look for God.
I will never forget the time I was in a department store looking
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