Church, Do You Understand Your Responsibility?

Church of Christ, do you understand your responsibility before God?

The solution to the world’s problems is NOT in the hands of political leaders or governments. The solution is in GOD! In fact, YOU are part of the solution if you choose to participate in God’s plan. How do I know?

Here is what God Himself says in His word:

“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.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The question is: are YOU humbling yourself, praying, seeking God’s face and turning away from your wicked ways?

If you are, then YOU are part of the solution and God WILL hear you from Heaven, He WILL forgive your sins and He WILL HEAL YOUR LAND!

If you are not, then YOU need to begin now!

The following are excerpts taken from a booklet written by the Bible Teacher Derek Prince. You can read the entire article here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

God desires the church to exert a controlling influence in the affairs of this world through prayer. This is clearly stated in the Scriptures. If the church fails to do it, the church has become salt that has lost is savor.

There are various ways the church can make her authority effective in this country. I would suggest four ways: prayer, witnessing, preaching, and doing good. These are the primary ways in which God expects the church to exercise her influence.

Look at the land in which we live. Does it need healing? Yes!

The fact that the land needs healing indicates that God’s people have failed to do what God told them to do. The responsibility is with us, not the drug addict, not the prostitute… the responsibility is with the people upon whom Christ’s name is called!

God deals with the world in grace and mercy, rather than wrath and judgment, because of the Christians. We are the people who are the defense of the country. Consider the example of Sodom. Abraham said to God, “If there are ten righteous men, will You spare the city?” And God said “Yes.” But He could not spare the city because He could not find ten righteous men!

I feel sorry for the earth when the church leaves. There will be no more salt. Then wrath and judgment will be poured out without any limitation or restriction. While we are here, we are the salt of the earth. Salt holds back corruption. What are we here for? To keep back corruption.

When the church ceases to fulfill its function as salt, it will be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

God’s people must humble themselves. God cannot humble you. God can humiliate you and He may have to, but the only person who can humble you is you. Humility must come by an inward act of your will.

If we are submitted to God, we will also be submitted to His Word and His authority.

The powerhouse of the Christian church is PRAYER. First, we are to pray for “kings and all who are in authority.” If you pray for people in authority, you will have less to criticize. God did not call you to criticize, He called you to PRAY. If you are not praying, you are disobedient. We must pray “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence”, more briefly, that we have good government. If we do not have good government, then God’s people have not met His conditions and prayed.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The contest is taking place in “high places” or “heavenly places”.

Many political leaders are coming to the conclusion that they are facing problems for which they do not have the answer. You can kill endless numbers of men, but you do not deal with the spiritual forces behind them. Merely killing men is not going to solve the problem.

The warfare is in the realm of the mind: reasonings, imaginations, thoughts and knowledge. You cannot change a man’s attitude by executing him. You can kill a man’s body, but the demon within the man will come back.

We are not wrestling against flesh and blood. We have different enemies, we have different weapons. The weapons which God has given us are mighty! They are invincible if we will use them. If we are defeated, it is not through a lack of armor. It is through the failure to use it!

Spiritual factors are absolutely decisive in world affairs, in natural affairs and in personal affairs. The dominating, controlling, decisive element behind all of them is the spiritual. That is why the church is the decisive factor in world affairs, because the church is the ONLY agent that can enter into this realm and operate there.

Behind every kingdom, every nation there is an invisible rulership. When you go to certain cities you can feel the presence of spiritual powers. They are not always the same. If you are sensitive, you can feel the unseen powers that dominate and control. When these spiritual powers are brought into subjection by PRAYER, there is a breakthrough in the kingdom of God.

An Old Testament example of spiritual powers is found in the fourth chapter of Daniel. Daniel set himself to pray for 21 days with special earnestness for divine intervention on behalf of his people. At the end of this period an angel came with a revelation that was the answer to his prayers.

There was a spiritual warfare of angels in the heavens during Daniel’s time of prayer.

Notice that it was what happened on earth that decided the course of events in heaven. This is a tremendous truth. Nothing happened until Daniel started to PRAY. The issue of events was decided not in the heavenly realm but on the earth below by the prayer of one man, Daniel. It was Daniel’s prayers that got the angel through, NOT the angel that got Daniel through!

If only God’s people would see that the issues are settled by us. They are not settled by the angels.

We are the decisive factor in the affairs of the universe. I am not exaggerating one bit. if Daniel had not prayed, things would have never happened in heaven. He had to pray for 21 days to get the answer. What delayed the answer? Satan, in the person of the prince of the kingdom of Persia, was the reason for the delay.

Many times you do not get your prayers answered, not because you are praying wrong, but simply because you have to pray that wicked prince out of the way. You have to PRAY THROUGH!

If you get into this realm, you will face problems and temptations that do not come the way of the average Christian. Unseen forces will be directed against any person who sets himself/herself to praying intelligently for those in authority.

God said in Ezekiel 22:30-31, “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. If I could have found ONE person in all the nation, I could have spared them.”

Think of it! ONE person would have turned the tide for a whole nation!

God is looking for ONE person! He is looking for ONE person to stand in the breach and make up a wall.

Will you be that one person?

If so, please pray this prayer with me:

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the reminder to pray for my nation. I ask for Your forgiveness for my neglect of the important focus of prayer. With Your help, I now renew my commitment to pray for the government of the country in which You have placed me. From this day forward, I choose to lift my nation before You in prayer and to stand in the gap on behalf of my people. Please help me to fulfill this responsibility by the power and prompting of the Holy Spirit. I pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Derek Prince video: Ruling By Prayer.