If My People!

In times of national distress and uncertainty such as pandemics, riots, racial tensions, weather phenomenon and other events that grab our attention, there has been one verse in Scripture that has “rallied the troops” to get our nation back towards God.

That verse is 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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

What some may not know, is that this is actually a response from God to one particular part of a prayer that Solomon prayed to God in 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. The response comes in verses 26-31: 

“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession. If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— and if your people Israel pray about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.”

Fascinating, isn’t it?! We’ve seen our share of droughts, lack of food supplies, one pandemic, major storms (hurricanes/floods), wild fires, and those who are “besieging their towns” such as Portland, Oregon. Beyond the dilemma is also restoration. We have hope of living with blessings instead of living under the curse of rebellion.

God instructs us to do four things to hear our prayers, forgive us, and heal our land (country) from these horrible things facing our Nation and the world today. These are the stipulations God lays down for a nation to experience His blessing. Nothing has changed in Scripture. Obedience is still a main ingredient to a healthy and proper understanding of the rubrics regarding our relationship with God.

Those of us who are His people must cease from their sins, turn from living lives of proud self-centeredness, pray to the Lord, and surrender their desires to His Word and His will. Then, and only then, will He grant heaven-sent revival. Let us look at those four things: Humbleness, prayer, seeking His face, and turning from our wicked ways.

1. Humble ourselves: This Hebrew word can mean “to bend the knee.” It implies that we are submissive or brought under the subjection of God’s authority. If Jesus is Lord, then He must be Lord of all areas of your life in thought, word, and deed.

Exodus 20:3-5, “’You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”

Anything that takes us away from Jesus or tries to drive a wedge in between us and God is an idol that must be put back into its proper priority in our life. We must never take the risks of putting careers, dreams, people or any plans above our love and devotion for God as Father and Jesus as our Savior.

Selfishness, stubbornness, pride, and arrogance must never be attributes found in the life of a Christian. Micah 6:8, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” May we never be “full of ourselves,” but found, instead, “poured out” as a drink offering in service to Jesus (Philippians 2:17).

2. Pray: We must be careful that we understand that prayer is not this systematic, one-sided conversation whereby we lift our “wish list” to God to let Him know what we want Him to do for us.

Prayer is communion as much as communication with God as Father. We spend time worshipping, adoring, praising and recognizing His splendor and glory much like the words of Jude in verse 25, “All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.”

Prayer is intercession which means interceding on behalf of others. That is lifting up our desires for our neighbors, family and yes….our enemies. We pray for our Church, schools, governments, and institutions. We pray for our leadership in these areas, too! That is what the Hebrew word for “pray” means…to intercede; to intervene.

Prayer is also about being still and listening as we should desperately want to hear God speak to us. It is an unspeakable joy to discern the voice of God as the Holy Spirit helps us to hear. Receiving direction, counsel, guidance, and assurance personally from our Heavenly Father is something that should be normal and not rare for the believer.

3. Seek His Face: Jesus urged His followers, in Matthew 5:6, to “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” All Christians in America—and other nations—would do well to increase our hunger for godliness and holiness.

I must willfully seek after God. The word “seek” means to “desire,” or to “search out” and “to strive after.” These are words that describe a quest that is intentional. I have to make the time and rid myself of anything that would distract me or assist with helping my mind to wander. Obstacles must be dismantled and conquered.

My full attention is basking in the presence of my Heavenly Father. The Hebrew word for “face” means “in the presence of” or “in front of” signifying that we must make the effort and be intentional with spending time with God as Father. Our to desire to do this should be more than anything in all the world. Matthew 6:6a, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.”

4. Turn from our wicked ways: The Hebrew word for “turn” in relation to “wicked ways” can imply “repentance” and even a “returning from” as in “leaving sinfulness and returning to God.” 

We want to turn our backs on evil and turn back to God. We must always reconcile, consistently, our fallen nature and inherited sinfulness. We, above all, must not be as the swine and dogs of 2 Peter 2:22, “They prove the truth of this proverb: ‘A dog returns to its vomit.’ And another says, ‘A washed pig returns to the mud.’” We must cut ties with all things that entice us to forsake holiness and embrace sinfulness. This is an immense challenge for some as this means severing friendships, moving away, finding a different job, or, sadly, finding a new Church to attend. Not easy, but necessary.

You cannot afford the cost of flirting with the lust and desire of your former life before Jesus. As we are told in Proverbs 6:27-28, “Can a [person] scoop a flame into [their] lap and not have [their] clothes catch on fire? Can [they] walk on hot coals and not blister [their] feet?” If you dabble and toy with your past, you will get burned, or perhaps, caught back into the cycle of addiction, habits, and other bad choices. It is not worth it.

Are we truly ready to stop flirting with the boundaries between the ways of God and the ways of the world? The question remains: What does it take? How much stress, grief, hardship, and havoc are you willing to reap and endure before you decide to make a change? How hard does it have to hit you personally before you are motivated enough to surrender and return to God? Why are you even willing to take that chance?

We can avoid all this grief and potential hardships by surrendering our pride to the remedy prescribed by God Himself in 2 Chronicles 7:14 by humbling ourselves to pray and seek the face of God while turning from our wicked ways (sinfulness). If each of us will do this much, we can find, collectively, God will hear us and, according to His will and timing, bring healing to us, our families, and our nation. Let us return to God!