Project 7:14

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Chronicles 7:14

 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.

(ESV)

Vice President Mike Pence was sworn in on Reagan’s Bible open to 2 Chronicles 7:14.  (1)  As we look at the state of our nation and world, this verse sums up what is necessary to turn our divided world around.  Project 7:14 is about what we as God’s people must do to fulfill the Godly instruction outlined in this verse.

1)      Practice humility – Jesus stated that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).  The Greek word used by Jesus for meek is praus.  The difficult to translate root of this word, (pra-) means more than meek.  Biblical meekness is not weakness as some believe but instead exercising God’s strength under His control.  (2)  This is the perfect picture of Biblical humility, a life lived in God’s strength because it is a life lived under God’s control.  The Declaration of Independence of the United States specifically states that the rights of citizens are not something granted by some dictatorial authority of government or some governmental edict but are something granted by our creator God.  (3)  Unfortunately through the years government in the United States has strayed from this foundational belief and grown to become a monster issuing edicts that curtail the private property rights, (4) free speech rights, (5) and the religious liberties (6) of the citizens.  It’s time to humble ourselves to our creator by returning to the Godly roots of our nation’s founding and away from dependence on big government.

2)      Pray – Many underestimate the power of prayer.  James 5:16 reminds us to pray for one another and reminds us of the power of our prayers.  The original Greek translation for James 5:16 speaks of our prayers having energy or energeo like an electrical current moving through an electrical wire powering what is on the other end.  (7)  James also reminds us that our prayers can accomplish much.  As we look at events happening both in our nation and around the world it is easy to become discouraged believing the situation is hopeless.  However, when the situation becomes seemingly hopeless to us, we must remember we have an energeo connection to our creator that can accomplish much.  However, we do not have to wait for the situation to become hopeless so I want to encourage everyone to join me in regularly taking a moment each day to lift our nation and world up in prayer remembering that our prayers have divine energy and accomplish much. 

3)      Seek my face – In the original Hebrew for 2 Chronicles 7:14, seek my face is a translation from the two words baqash, to seek, and panim, before. (8) (9) Baqash implies an eager, almost begging desire to seek someone.  In other words, scripture is encouraging us to have an eager desire to go before our creator.  This is a call for God’s people to eagerly come before God praying for their nations. 

4)      Turn from their wicked ways – For the nation to turn from its wicked ways and back to its Godly founding principles, it must see Gods people lead the way by turning from their own wicked ways.  While it is true that all have sinned (Romans3:23) and none of us are sinless, God’s people should strive to sin less. 

Project 7:14 is a call for God’s people to humble themselves before God, pray for their nations and world, eagerly seek God, and turn from their wicked ways so God can heal our nations and world.  This is not some organization one can join or donate money to.  It is also not a project that will have organized marches or rallies.  No, this is a movement working behind the scenes in the hearts and prayer closets of the people of God.   It is a call for God’s special forces, His humble praying people to seek His face and turn from their sins so God can heal our nations. 

Will you join me in this project?

1. Conservative Tribune. Here’s the Verse Pence’s Bible Will Be Open To as He’s Sworn In… Libs Will Be Sick. conservativetribune.com. [Online] Conservative Tribune. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://conservativetribune.com/verse-pences-bible-will-be-open/.

2. Strongs Concordance. 4239. praus. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/greek/4239.htm.

3. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

4. Jr., James W. Ely. Property Rights in American History. www.hillsdale.edu. [Online] Hillsdale College. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/FMF-2008-Property-Rights-in-American-History.pdf.

5. Slattery, Hans A. von Spakovsky and Elizabeth. Amending the First Amendment: How the Campaign Finance Amendment Will Silence Free Speech. www.heritage.org. [Online] The Heritage Foundation, June 2, 2014. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/06/amending-the-first-amendment-how-the-campaign-finance-amendment-will-silence-free-speech.

6. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Current Threats To Religious Liberty. www.usccb.org. [Online] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/current-threats-to-religious-liberty.cfm.

7. Bible Hub. 1754. energeo. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/greek/1754.htm.

8. —. 1245. baqash. biblehub,com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1245.htm.

9. —. 6440. panim or paneh. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6440.htm.