Healing the Land
Monday, August 12, 2019Welcome to the beginning of a 21 day fast! A few thousand from across the country are seeking God for revival during this fast. If you’re new to fasting, please see these fasting resources so that you can participate safely and effectively.
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. — 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV)
A few months ago I witnessed the most direct application of this passage that I had ever heard of. It was truly astonishing to visit a place where God fulfilled His promise so literally regarding “healing the land.” Many villages in the Fiji Islands have experienced revival in the last 15-20 years, and a team of 13 Christian Union staff members under the leadership of George Otis, Jr. visited ten of the nearly 120 villages that have been transformed by the power of God through the years.
After experiencing a four-week “revival process,” villagers report many tangible miracles including the healing of coral reefs, significant increase in fish, crabs, clams and turtles, and even fruit trees which now bear fruit year round instead of just annually! Perhaps most remarkable is the healing of a village’s stream which had been polluted for 40 years with a white milky substance. During the four-week process, some women walked by the stream and noticed it had cleared. They had it tested and discovered it had been completely healed and is now potable, praise God! However, the stream flows through the territory of other villages, up and down stream, and amazingly, the stream was still polluted—upstream and downstream—until the respective villages also went through their own four-week process.
The villages not only experienced the healing of their land, but other works of God typically associated with revival: conversions, reconciliation, healings, deliverances and a radical increase in love for God. Although I had known people who had visited these villages and had seen the documentary “Let the Sea Resound,” (YouTube video, 1 hour 14 minutes), it was another level to meet the witnesses personally and see the locations of the miracles.
The conditions and promises of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 are just as real today as they have ever been. For communities experiencing difficulty, it’s quite possible they could experience God’s blessings (even if it sometimes brings persecution), when they turn to Him with their whole hearts. At Christian Union, we’ve always been about revival, but this experience is going to take us to another level. Please join in prayer for us during this 21 Day Fast as we seek the Lord for His strategy for seeking Him through fasting, humbling, repentance and prayer so that we experience more of His presence in our lives and community.
Yours in Christ,
Matt Bennett
To sign up for the fast at anytime, visit https://www.dayandnight.org/fast.
