SOME BLESSINGS ARE CONDITIONAL

Proclamation:

"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 ..." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of The Lord God which He spoke to King Solomon when He appeared to him in a dream after he had finished building the temple of The Lord and the royal palace as an answer to his prayer. (2 Chronicles 7:12)  God wanted His chosen people to change their behavior before He would answer their prayers and forgive them.

Application:

We are blessed by The Lord God in more ways than we can count.  We receive some blessings without asking for them.  We are blessed when our hearts keep on beating and we keep on breathing.  However, some blessings are conditional; we only get those blessings after certain conditions are satisfied.  We only get the specified "then" blessings when the "if" conditions are satisfied.  Some of our prayers will not be answered until we, as believers, humble ourselves, and pray, and seek The Lord, and turn from our wicked sinful ways.  We should not expect that God will forgive us and bless us if we continue to commit the same sins over and over again.  If we honestly cannot help ourselves, then we need to pray to Him for His help and strength to change our ways.  The Bible says that the fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)  We don’t have to be perfect but we must believe and be sincere when we pray.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and then He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)