Consecrate...

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14; 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.

Observations: When Solomon built the temple for the Lord, and consecrated it to Him, the Lord appeared to Him and said “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 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. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.” God chose to inhabit the house that Solomon built for Him because Solomon consecrated it to the Lord. God responds to consecration. 

Application: Today, God responds to the consecration of our body and soul. Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Consecration means we devote ourselves entirely to Him. When Solomon consecrated the temple to God, God responded and said I will abide here. When we consecrate our temple, our body and soul to God, He chooses to abide in us. We can only consecrate our own body; we cannot consecrate the body of another on their behalf. However, when the righteous devote ourselves to God, and pray on behalf of the unrighteous, the whole nation experiences and benefits from the prayer and repentance. The whole land enjoys the rain God sends in response to our prayers. The whole land benefits from God’s presence and healing. 

Prayer: Jesus, may we live in daily devotion to you, and may we the righteous rise up and pray for You to heal the land You’ve blessed us with.