This passage of scripture I have used to title this blog has been one of my favorites for years. I have prayed this prayer many times asking God to heal our land. Somehow I just don't think that my prayer was sufficient, not because I was not sincere but because I failed to take the time to meditate on it and understand its true meaning. Let's examine this scripture that almost all Christians have stood on throughout our nations history, especially this past four years.
Solomon is recorded as the wisest man who has ever walked on this earth. Why was he the wisest man? He believed in God and trusted in Him. When God gave him the opportunity to ask Him of anything he wanted, Solomon, instead of asking for wealth or any other selfish thing, ask for wisdom to lead God's people. God granted him that request and because Solomon did not put himself first God not only granted him wisdom He also gave him great wealth and a place of honor with all the surrounding nations and even his enemies. Solomon had just finished having a great temple built that his father King David wanted to build for God to dwell in among His people, but David was not the one to build the temple, so God passed the task to David's son Solomon. Now Solomon was ready to lead his people, and he had some reservations about leading a people that continually sinned against God. He knew that when they sinned and did not repent God would judge them. So, Solomon prayed asking God to help him. Solomon had prayed a prayer of dedication for the temple, 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. Then one night God appeared to Solomon and told him that he would dwell among his people and bless them as long as they followed and obeyed His laws. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is just a part of God's answer to Solomon's prayer but it is the most relevant part of God's answer to not only Solomon and the Jewish people, but to us today.
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
When we examine this scripture we find some very unique parts to it. For instance, look at the word "then." What does that mean? Well by reading the scripture before it we find that God may well bring hardship to His people, especially when they have neglected God or have sinned against Him. Sometimes God wanted to test His people to show them their faults and lack of trust. It is during these trials or hardships that God said "then" or in other translations "if" indicating that they had a choice to turn to God or continue trusting in themselves. The next word we will notice is the use of the word "called." Called is nothing more than those who have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit calling them to repentance and becoming one of God's children or people. So anyone today who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as God's only begotten Son, and places their trust in Him becomes one of His people with all the benefits and blessings God has to offer. "Name" is the next part we must understand. Jehovah would be the most logical name the Jewish people would recognize as to who God is. Jehovah refers to God who is to His people whatever they would need, such as, healing, prosperity, protection, banner, etc. Now we look at the difficult part, a word we usually don't like to hear or do, "humble." Humble falls in line with subdue or being subdued. We subdue ourselves before Jehovah recognizing Him as God, our King, the one who has power over us. We bow our heads or kneel in submission to one who is greater than we are. "Pray" is now used which as we know means to converse with God, to pour out our heart to Him and place before him our request. We are to intercede for ourselves and our nation "seeking" His "face." In seeking we are more like searching and concerned enough to beg for God's favor. Seeking God's face is to come before Him by searching for His presence. Coming before God is to know that He is God and we must come close to Him. To be before one's face is to be in the very presence of someone. Now we must realize the most difficult aspect of this command, we must "turn" from our "wicked way," repent, turn and go the other way, change our mind about the direction we have been going and start going the way God had originally told us to go. Wicked way is what infers, bad, evil. When you become a believer we are instructed to renew our minds, Ephesians 4:23. Once you become a believer in Jesus Christ your original sin has been forgiven and your are given a new spirit, you become a new creation. All your sins our wiped away and forgiven, past, present and future sins. The problem is when you became this new creation it is your spirit that was born again, not your body or your soul or mind. That old man that we were before left behind all those old habits and thoughts in our minds, so we struggle daily with temptation and sin. This is where the renewing of the mind comes into play, we renew our mind with the word of God which replaces all that old junk left behind with Gods life giving word that will destroy the old ways. God said when we do this He will forgive or pardon our sins. In Christ this has been done, and He, Christ intervenes for us. "Heal" is a welcome word to everyone. When we are sick, we want to be well or healed, nothing else really matters at the time, we just want to be healed. This word carries with it the ability of a physician to heal from your sickness. God is the ultimate physician, He "will"heal, and the word will is a word that is positive and a promise. The word used here refers to complete healing, nothing left undone. The last part of this scripture is the word "land." This does not just mean your particular part of property, it means country, or countries and their land or earth. Basically it refers to their nation and all that is included in it.
This is a powerful scripture but can only benefit when it is followed to the letter. One part that still needs to be mentioned is the word "my people." My people refers to tribe, those who are united, or of one connection. Today as a believer we are united in Christ, of one body or tribe. This does not refer to unbelievers or those who are not connected through Christ. So God is telling us today that those who are believers or as mentioned in the New Testament the church or the body of Christ. In other words, the weight is placed on believers, God's people, to humble themselves and pray, repent of our sins and seek Gods face. This is an action, not just a prayer to repeat. We must sincerely repent and seek Gods face. Just mouthing the words won't cut it.
Do you really want this nation healed, then read this scripture with a new light, read it and apply it to your life, don't depend on others to do it, you must do it. The whole body of Christ must humble themselves daily and come before God. Our sins are forgiven, but we must renew our mind and let God fill us with His Holy Spirit and His Word. Our redemption is already done, but we must in faith receive that which God has for us. The more we read and meditate on Gods word the more our minds will be free from the old left over junk that drags us down and keeps us from the blessings of God we seek. He will heal our land when we seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, Matthew 6:33
Thank you for reading this message, I hope it has helped you in some way. Now I must leave you with this final request. I am interested in how many actually read these blog posts. So if you have read through the entire message I would like you to leave a comment on this post. If I do not receive several comments then I am must seriously consider stopping the writing of these posts. I will however be about Gods business elsewhere. May God bless you all and may He be with you on your journey through this life.
