2 Chronicles 7:14
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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
1. Discern God
Isaiah 57:15-16
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Contrite - means properly that which is broken, crushed, beaten small, trodden down. Here it denotes a soul that is borne down with a sense of sin and unworthiness; a heart that is, as it were, crushed under a superincumbent weight of guilt.
Isaiah 6:1-5
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Humility is a sense of entire nothingness which comes when we truly see that God is all in all.
2 Corinthians 3:5 “….but our sufficiency is of God…”
- God is Transcendent – “Other Than”
- God is Eternal – “No Beginning and No End”
- God is the Originator – “Cause and Will of all Existence”
- It is Arrogance to deduce that your understanding is superior to all reality.
2. By Praying
- Acknowledgement that we need help
I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel…I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.
- Proud people don’t pray!
3. Acknowledge Wrong
a. For yourself
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
b. For others
Jeremiah 14:20
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our
fathers, for we have sinned against You.
4. Ask For Mercy
Micah 7:18
18Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant…? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.
Matthew 9:9-13
9 Jesus…saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. 10 As Jesus sat at the table in the house.…many tax collectors and sinners…sat down with Him…11 The Pharisees…said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with…sinners?" 12 He (Jesus) said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Isaiah 38:1-5
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord…And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.
5. Treat Others Right
Matthew 18:22-33
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