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 will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

I find myself continually coming back to this verse. If we have fear for the soul of our country, then God has given us a mandate in this verse. He provided the who, the what to do, and the result.

Who? Those who are believers.

What to do? Humble ourselves, pray and seek His face and turn from sin.

The result? Forgiveness and healing. 

When I went to Chronicles to check this verse in context, I noticed that I had underlined the verse and wrote in the margin, “9-11-01″—a date we all recognize immediately. 

The context? Solomon has just completed the building of the temple. The elaborate furnishings are in place; the ark is brought in, and the sacrifices are made during a great festival, complete with musical instruments. 

Solomon then comes to a platform before all the people. He kneels and spreads his hands up toward heaven to pray. The lengthy prayer is recorded in II Chronicles 6:14-42. In essence, he praises God and reminds Him of promises made to his father, King David. Hear the pleading in his voice:

The heavens cannot contain you, much less this temple.

Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy.

Hear the cry that your servant is praying in your presence.

May your eyes be open toward this temple.

Hear from heaven and when you hear, forgive.

Solomon goes on in much detail. The point is that he prays with passion and heartfelt, submissive pleas. God dramatically responds before the people by bringing fire down from heaven and consuming the burnt offering and the sacrifices.

That night, God appears to Solomon and says the verse above (among other things) promising to forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Let’s look closely at God’s mandate.

HUMBLE yourselves –  cease being prideful, self-centered, and greedy.

PRAY and SEEK God’s face – not rote prayers or only quickies, but truly spending quality time pleading with compassion as Solomon did.

TURN from your wicked ways – judging, gossiping, misusing valuable time, centered on self, whatever you see as sin in your life.

When you can’t “fix” the problems of the world or even your own little world, He calls on you and me to turn to Him. He wants to transform our living and our thinking, but once again, he gives us the choice as to who is in charge. Try to do it ourselves? Or surrender to Him.

How do you see the power of prayer in your life? Do you turn to prayer only if all else fails? Do you say, “When I can get around to it. I’m so busy.”

Or “I’m daily working toward submission. I’ve seen His power at work in my life and others. Even if I’m the only one, help me to be disciplined and passionate in prayer, O Lord.”

~ Joyce ~