Day 9: Cry for Mercy

Week 2: Intercession & Warfare

“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 (NIV)

This is one of the most quoted verses on revival and national healing, yet it is easy to miss the depth of what God is saying. Notice that the focus is not first on "the world," but on "my people." The key to national healing does not start with parliament; it begins with the Church.

Four Movements of the Heart

There are four specific movements found in this verse:

  1. Humble themselves: We recognise that we cannot fix ourselves, our churches, or our nation. We renounce pride and self-reliance.

  2. Pray: We speak to God about our condition instead of just complaining to each other.

  3. Seek my face: We pursue God Himself, not just His blessings. It is about the relationship rather than just the results.

  4. Turn from their wicked ways: We repent of any sin and compromise, both personally and corporately.

The Promise of Healing

Then there is a threefold response from God: He will hear, forgive, and heal. Derek Prince often pointed out that this verse is a conditional promise. If we do our part in humility, prayer, seeking, and turning, God stands ready to do His part. Prince highlighted that God’s "healing" includes spiritual, moral, and even national restoration.

In his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala shares how his church discovered that if they would truly seek God together, He would come and do more than they could ever organise. The key again and again was honesty, humility, and desperate prayer. Revival did not come through clever ideas, but through broken hearts crying for mercy.

Standing for the Nation

As ANCC, we love our nation. We also see its brokenness. There is confusion in identity, crisis in families, pressure on mental health, and deep spiritual emptiness. It is easy to feel overwhelmed or cynical.

But God is still the same. He still hears. He still forgives. He still heals. Our job is to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from any wicked ways in our own lives and in the Church.

Let Us Pray

Father, we come before You as Your people, called by Your name. We humble ourselves. We admit that we cannot fix ourselves or this nation. We confess our pride, our prayerlessness, and our compromise.

We seek Your face, not just Your hand. We turn from our wicked ways. Have mercy on us. Hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Start in us at ANCC, then move across Britain and the nations. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

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