his is the sixth in a series of articles on the well-known Bible verses, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. These articles address the need for and God’s requirements for a great spiritual awakening, which God promises his people for this day in which we live.

Our God will respond to us. He is a responsive God. We must believe him to respond. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God: for anyone that comes to him must believe that he is (he exists), and that he rewards those who diligently seek him”. On the border of God’s wonderful “promised” land of Canaan, his people failed to believe God’s promises. Hebrews 3:19 says, “So we see that they were not able to enter in because of their unbelief.” They had to wander in the desert land, living and dying outside the will and plan of God until a new generation would be raised up to believe God.

I say to the readers of these articles, you and I are on the border of God’s promised land of a spiritual awakening. We look now at God’s promises to us if we will believe and obey God. He promises three things for the beginning and continuation of the spiritual awakening as we continue to believe him and continue fulfilling his requirements for us.

First, God promises to hear our attitude and worship and repentance and requests in prayer. God says, “I will hear from heaven.” All those things that have clogged the communication lines with the God of the universe, our Father through Jesus Christ, have been removed. No longer does He say to you, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). He rather says, “I hear you and I have been longing to receive you and be a forgiving and giving and guiding father to you for a very long time.” Great potential has opened for all kinds of prayer in God’s will and according to his word now that we are on “praying ground” and “speaking terms” with God. The spiritual awakening comes and continues as we keep the communication line open to “Him who hears from heaven.”

Second, God promises to forgive our sins, our wicked ways, our mountain of rebellion. Your list of personal sins have grown longer and longer as you have truly humbled yourself before God, as you have been seeking the face of an all knowing and holy God in prayer. You have tried to uncover every sin you can possibly remember of your past and present. You have turned from your wicked ways and said, “God, this is me. Just as I am, I come.” God promises: “I will forgive their sins.” Faith is taking God at his word, believing his promise. The guilt and burden of sin is lifted, gone, never to be remembered by God, ever, anymore: sweet release, a new beginning. “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses from all sin” (I John 1:7,9).

Third, God promises to heal our land. This is the land of “My people, God’s People.” The land is simply the source from which God’s people received their necessities: food, clothing and water. We have seen the healing in the gardens, farmland, pastures, orchards and lawns with adequate rain. There are abundant simple teachings throughout the Old and New Testaments that God promises to provide the necessities of life to His children who are faithful to him (for example Psalm 37:3; Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19).

But God is speaking about more than restoring and reviving barren land. God stands ready to restore and transform the barren unfruitful desert of your life and my life and of your church body and of my church body. Jesus is the life giving water of salvation (John 4:13-14). The Holy Spirit of Christ is the overflowing life giving water of fruitfulness for the child of God (John 7:37-39). God is God of today! “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

God says, “If my people will…I will…” This will bring us to the climactic article that is the most important of all next week. Reflect on 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. Let’s apply God’s requirements personally.