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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
Watching the horrific events that took place in our nation’s capital this week (January 2021), my first thought was that we are completely out of control and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it! But as I began to pray, I was reminded of this devotional message I wrote many years ago. It has been in my file cabinet for decades, along with many others that I have begun to publish weekly on my website in the last few months. I’m encouraged today to personally respond to this message, and I pray you will be encouraged too. I realize it is our enemy, Satan, who will tell us that everything is completely out of control, there is no hope, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Here it is:
What solution would you offer if you were asked how you would go about bringing healing to our nation? I’m sure we could all come up with a very lengthy list: If we could stop the sale and use of drugs… If we could get a tougher justice system to lower the crime rate… If we offered a stronger educational program in our schools… If we could reconstruct the welfare program… If there was more money for better housing and programs for the homeless… If we had higher standards for environmental policies… If our government were more (or less) in control… The list could go on and on. But, look carefully at what God says:
If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Where does God say healing of the land needs to begin? Not with the government. Not with drug control. Not with the education systems. It needs to begin with the people who are called by His Name — with Christians. With me. With you.
Is that a sobering thought? I believe that if each one of us as an individual Christian would take this verse seriously and act on it, our nation and the whole world would be a very different place. We need to renew ourselves to a wholehearted commitment to obedience to God, to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). We need to take seriously our charge to be salt and light wherever we live (Matthew 5:13-16).
The first step God requires is to humble ourselves and pray. As Christians, it is imperative to understand that prayer is not optional if we are to live life as He intended us to live. That is how we can know what He wants to accomplish in our life. Prayer is not just presenting a list of our needs to God. We can ask Him to direct our thoughts to the matters that concern Him.
Next, He tells us to seek His face. What does that mean? It requires so much more than just regular church attendance. It requires much more than a daily Bible reading. It is possible to participate in good religious activity and never have it touch our heart, change our behavior, or enable us to see God more clearly. To seek His face is an attitude of the heart that desires to know God, not just facts about God, but to know Him, to see Him as He reveals Himself in His Word. We will not see Him if we are busily rushing from one activity to another. We need time to be alone with Him, asking Him to reveal Himself to us, listening, and responding in worship and obedience as we see more and more of His love and grace.
God doesn’t say “if murderers, drug dealers, hopeless criminals….” He says that His people must turn from their wicked ways. We must repent — a change of heart that leads to a change in our actions. It’s easy to make the mistake of comparing ourselves with others and to conclude that we’re not so bad. But when we hold ourselves up to the standard of God’s perfection, even our righteous deeds are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). All have sinned. We need to see sin as God sees it. We need to turn away from sin, turn back to God and be forgiven.
My prayer is that God will awaken my heart, and the hearts of His people, to inspire us to wholehearted commitment to Him. I pray that He will open our hearts to understand the urgency of living as He has called us to live. Lord, bring new life to your people. Send a revival to our land. Let it begin with me.
Then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Spend time with the Lord asking Him what specifically needs to be done in your life in order for you to be a part of bringing healing to our land. Ask if there are specific ways to be salt and light in the community He has placed you.
Prayerfully evaluate your life in relation to each of these sections of 2 Chronicles 7:14:
Have you humbled yourself? Have you completely surrendered your whole life to God to use as He chooses? Or are you still holding onto your own dreams and desires?
Do you pray? Do you honestly spend quality quiet time alone with the Father asking for His will for each day? Prayer is quiet communion with God — pouring out our heart to Him, but also quietly listening for Him to speak to us. It is not a list for God to “do this and do that” that we so often get caught up in.
Do you seek His face? Do you long to know Him more and more? We should not be satisfied with just hearing what the pastor has to say on Sunday mornings. We need to develop a close personal relationship with the Lord daily through prayer and study of His Word.
Have you turned from your wicked ways? This is not a one-time-only experience of asking forgiveness for all our sins. We need to consistently ask God to show us what needs to be forgiven so we can be a clean vessel for Him to use.
Lord, convict us to take seriously these words from Your Word. Let it begin with each of us in our own heart. Help us to renew our commitment to pray for the healing of our nation and the world.
That is exactly the same verse that I have been thinking about the last couple of days. Thank you Sherrilyn.
Encouraging!