In Humble Remembrance

The LORD said, “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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  

– 2 Chronicles 7:14

I remember exactly where I was standing and even the color of the room, when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001.  I’m sure you know exactly where you were as well.  A horrific day we will all humbly remember.

We were living in Worcester, Massachusetts at the time, and New York City all of a sudden felt extremely close.  I tried to reach a close friend who worked in the city but all the phone lines were tied up.  I waited and hoped.

Notice I didn’t say that I prayed.  I was only one year into the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call, so prayer was not my first response.  Instead I paced back and forth in our living room worrying and distracting my young son’s eyes from the TV.  Disbelief and horror consumed me.

Today, when our country is shaken, my mind immediately jumps to the verse above, 2 Chronicles 7:14.  Without hesitation, I ask God to heal our nation.  I believe God keeps every promise He makes, and this is a great one. 

I truly believe God is on the move to Wake Up our sleeping nation.  He is longing to get us back into a right relationship with Him.  I think He’s using simple alarms to move people’s hearts and minds.  With God’s help, we are creating a movement of giving thanks to God each and every day at 3pm. 

I recently learned of a movement calling people to pray for our country, every evening from now until the November elections.  They remind themselves by setting their alarms for 7pm Mountain Standard Time.  Sound familiar?  I now have a second alarm set and every evening I am praying 2 Chronicles 7:14, “Lord, heal our land.”

If you would like to join in, you too can give thanks every afternoon at three, then pray for our nation every evening at seven.  God will hear your prayers. He promises to.