Passage: Habakkuk 3:2

Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.

Renew them in our day, in our time make them known;

In wrath remember mercy.

Insight:

Habakkuk was a prophet who lived 600 years before Jesus, but he wrestled with the same questions we face today: Why is there so much evil in our land? How long until things will change? Will God demonstrate His power in this generation? The first two chapters of the book of Habakkuk cover an incredible conversation between the prophet and God. Habakkuk knows he can be honest with God.

After the conversation, Habakkuk begins to ask God for help. There are three qualities that emerge in his prayer. Let’s take another look at it:

1) Humility: “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.” Habakkuk gives God his full respect because of who God is and what God has done.

2) Desire: “Renew them in our day, in our time make them known;”

Habakkuk has an intense hunger for God to do something in his generation.

3) Confession: “In wrath, remember mercy.”

Habakkuk pleads with God to have mercy and to forgive the nation’s rebellion.

A Story:

Jeremiah Lanphier began a prayer meeting in 1857 in New York City. It was a Wednesday afternoon during the lunch hour, and 5 people joined him in prayer. It continued every week and before long, there were 40 people praying together. Other prayer meetings started in the city in the middle of the day. Soon, there were over 6,000 people praying in New York and Pittsburgh and daily prayer meetings in Washington D.C. This was the catalyst for The Great Awakening from 1857-1860, in which it was estimated that over a million people came to know Jesus. Christians were united and the society was changed. The revival extended into many other countries too. It can be traced back to a man who felt the burden to begin to pray for his country and asked other people to join him.

Application questions:

Do you really believe prayer can make a difference in your country today?

What changes would you like to see happen in the nation?

What does it mean to ask God to heal our land?

Would you begin to pray daily or weekly for another national awakening?

What do humility, desire, and confession look like in your prayer times?

Will you take some time reading and praying through the deeper Bible passages?

Deeper: Psalm 96:1-13, Daniel 9:1-19, Nehemiah 1:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Psalm 33:12, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Chronicles 7:14.

 

Passage: Habakkuk 3:2

Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.

Renew them in our day, in our time make them known;

In wrath remember mercy.

Insight:

Habakkuk was a prophet who lived 600 years before Jesus, but he wrestled with the same questions we face today: Why is there so much evil in our land? How long until things will change? Will God demonstrate His power in this generation? The first two chapters of the book of Habakkuk cover an incredible conversation between the prophet and God. Habakkuk knows he can be honest with God.

After the conversation, Habakkuk begins to ask God for help. There are three qualities that emerge in his prayer. Let’s take another look at it:

1) Humility: “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.” Habakkuk gives God his full respect because of who God is and what God has done.

2) Desire: “Renew them in our day, in our time make them known;”

Habakkuk has an intense hunger for God to do something in his generation.

3) Confession: “In wrath, remember mercy.”

Habakkuk pleads with God to have mercy and to forgive the nation’s rebellion.

A Story:

Jeremiah Lanphier began a prayer meeting in 1857 in New York City. It was a Wednesday afternoon during the lunch hour, and 5 people joined him in prayer. It continued every week and before long, there were 40 people praying together. Other prayer meetings started in the city in the middle of the day. Soon, there were over 6,000 people praying in New York and Pittsburgh and daily prayer meetings in Washington D.C. This was the catalyst for The Great Awakening from 1857-1860, in which it was estimated that over a million people came to know Jesus. Christians were united and the society was changed. The revival extended into many other countries too. It can be traced back to a man who felt the burden to begin to pray for his country and asked other people to join him.

Application questions:

Do you really believe prayer can make a difference in your country today?

What changes would you like to see happen in the nation?

What does it mean to ask God to heal our land?

Would you begin to pray daily or weekly for another national awakening?

What do humility, desire, and confession look like in your prayer times?

Will you take some time reading and praying through the deeper Bible passages?

Deeper: Psalm 96:1-13, Daniel 9:1-19, Nehemiah 1:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Psalm 33:12, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Chronicles 7:14.