Our First Response
Gtcotr/052205
There is a difference between having a problem and being a problem.
No matter how bad things are, believe me, you can make them worse.
Later we will be reading from the book of 1 Chronicles 6 & 7
Key Scriptures: John 16 (NIV)
23 ¶ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Much of life is spent worrying about or preparing for what we will do in the event something bad happens.
From personal health, auto, home and life insurance to the evolving Department of Homeland Security in the United States;
From the role of the United States Security Council to the deployment of Scud Missiles in the Middle East;
From hurricane tracking airplanes in the Atlantic to Tsunami warning systems in the Southern Pacific …
We, as a world, are constantly concerning ourselves with how to avoid trouble, or worse yet, what we can do to manage the situation when trouble comes.
There are guidelines and limits that restrict selling and even close down trading on the New York Stock Exchange if the stock market falls too far, too fast.
Airbags, seat belts, crash carts, carbon monoxide detectors, fire sprinklers, grain reserves, oil reserves, nuclear stockpiles, alert response aircraft, contingency plans, bomb shelters, storm shelters, homeless shelters and even pet shelters.
As a world society we are almost always consumed with plans and preparations concerning how we are going to respond to the next disaster that awaits us.
From earthquakes to volcanoes, from terrorist to anarchist, from floods to famines, from asteroids to hemorrhoids … we have developed well thought out plans to handle every contingency.
I am not suggesting that we should not be prepared or be less prepared … in fact I am suggesting that we be even more prepared to respond to trouble, tragedy and the tests of life which come our way.
Preparedness --- having a plan of action --- is a biblical concept.
What I am suggesting is that we make sure we do not leave out the most important step when responding to emergencies, disasters, world troubles and even personal problems which we will certainly encounter in life‘s journey.
For this reason, allow me to read a passage which contains Holy instructions on the best ‘First Response’
2 Chronicles 7 (NIV)
12 ¶ The LORD appeared to him (Solomon) at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
14 If my people, who are called by my name, will 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.
15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
v.12 … “ I have heard your prayer …”, God told Solomon.
What prayer did Solomon pray? If we were to look at:
2 Chronicles 6:21ff we would find the prayer of Solomon:
21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling-place; and when you hear, forgive.
22 "When a man wrongs his neighbour and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,
23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.
24 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple,
25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.
26 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray towards this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them,
27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land that you gave your people for an inheritance.
28 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come,
29 and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one aware of his afflictions and pains, and spreading out his hands towards this temple—
30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling-place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men),
31 so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land that you gave our fathers.
32 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays towards this temple,
33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling-place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house that I have built bears your Name.
34 "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you towards this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,
35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
36 "When they sin against you—for there is no-one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’;
38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray towards the land that you gave their fathers, towards the city you have chosen and towards the temple that I have built for your Name;
39 then from heaven, your dwelling-place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
40 "Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
You see, when things go wrong, we have a place to go!
It’s the place of prayer!
Want to be prepared? … then:
Be prepared to pray!
Prayer should be our first response to any trouble, personal problem or world calamity.
Note what 2 Chronicles 7:14 prescribes:
On our part … trouble demands our:
* Humility
* Petition
* Recognition
* Repentance
On God’s part … our prayer demands His:
* Attention
* Forgiveness
* Restoration
What Is Our First Approach To Prayer In The Time Of Trouble?
A Posture of Humility
Lets let Jesus paint this picture for us:
Matthew 6 (The Message)
5 ¶ "And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
6 "Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
7 "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.
8 Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.
A humble, repentant petition based upon the recognition of Who God is.
