Humbled

“Send me. I will go. Send me. I will go. To this city, to this nation and to the nations of the world. I cry out for every family. You open blind eyes and set people free; that as a nation we would turn back to You, and see revival sweep this land.”

As we sang this worship song at our Thursday night prayer meeting, my heart skipped a beat. I had recently returned from a mission trip, and my heart was still full of longing for the mission field. This particular prayer meeting, however, was to focus on praying for our community, city, state and especially our nation.

Worship was powerful as we continued singing: “As we humble ourselves, and seek Your face, fall on our knees, and turn from our ways; You will hear our cry, wash our sins away; Father, heal our land, we pray! Send me, I will go. Send me, I will go. To this city, to this nation, and to the nations of the world.”

This powerful time of worship was followed by a time of focused corporate prayer. We are a small church, and on this particular Thursday there were only about twenty of us; but prayer was just as powerful as if there had been a hundred of us.

People took turns crying out their prayers to God: “Father, please forgive me of my sins. Make me pure and holy so that I can stand in the gap for this country. Lord, please have mercy on this country. I humble myself before You and ask You to deliver us. I cry out for every family. Papa, God, give us courage and wisdom to pray for our neighbors that many would turn back to You. We want revival in this land!”

We fell on our faces and cried out for mercy. We asked God to bless President Obama and to give him wisdom as he leads this country. As we prayed, people literally began to prostrate themselves, begging God to have mercy on the United States and to bless, restore and heal our nation.

Suddenly, I found myself humbled to the point of tears. Why? Because I attend a primarily Chinese church. On this particular night all the brothers and sisters who were on their faces crying out for God to have mercy on America were Chinese immigrants. I was the only American present. It was a deeply moving experience that I will not soon forget.

Memory Verse:
“If my people who are called by my name 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.”
-2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

Prayer Prompt:
“Father, thank You for blessing us beyond our ability to comprehend. Please forgive me for not being as diligent as I should be in praying for my country. Thank You for my brothers and sisters from around the world who are faithful to pray daily that You would both restore America and bless her people. Father, I am truly humbled. Please forgive my sins and heal our land, starting with…”

Contributing Writer:
Mary Oliver