Over the last day or so, I’ve been reflecting over some of the major catastrophic events and our reaction to them, 9-11, Hurricane Katrina and the Charleston church shooting to name a few.  The thing I remember most is how quickly people came together, loved on one another, met at churches as specified times to pray together.  It seems so loving yet reality has been that as soon as the height and hype of the events die down, it’s business as usual with little to no time for prayer, and very little loving and supporting one another-that is until the next catastrophic event occurs.

I am really troubled by our reactive approach to life.  As Christians, we have been given the formula for healing.  Not necessarily healing of the bodies, but healing of our land which from my perspective includes every aspect of our lives. 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 will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Examine your busy life and answer these questions today:

1.  Am I the “called” of Christ? (1 Corinthians 12:27)

2.  Have I humbled myself before God? (1 Peter 5:5)

3.  Do I have a consistent prayer life? (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

4.  Can I honestly say that I seek God? If I’m not sure what that means, have I consulted someone I think could help me gain clarity? (Matthew 6:33)

5. Can I truly say that I have given up my wicked ways?  Not that I am without sin, but I don’t have any habits, or regular, consistent practices that I know are against God’s instruction for me? (Mark 7:21)

If the answer to any of these questions is no, I pray that you will commit to redirecting your actions so that you may answer it again soon in the affirmative.

Prayer vigils are great in giving mad respect to those who have died, no matter what the circumstances are surrounding their death.  God is calling those of us who are left to deal with the aftermath to be proactive in our prayer life.  I’m encouraging us to be vigilant in our prayer life and trust God to heal our land in a way that reduces our need for prayer vigils after the fact.  Vigilant prayer equals less prayer vigils!