“. . . 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.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
This morning all of the verses that the
Lord was showing me dealt with dedication of the temple in Jerusalem.
This particular passage comes after Solomon has done the dedication.
It is what God tells him after all of the ceremony and sacrifices
were completed. In fact, these words follow God telling them:
“When I shut up the heavens so that
there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a
plague among my people, . . .” (vs. 13).
Then, God tells them what they must do.
His people . . . NOT other people . . . but God's people who call
themselves by His name. He tells them that they must humble
themselves and pray. That they must seek His face and turn from
their wicked ways.
Humble themselves and pray. How do we
humble ourselves. What exactly does that mean? In short it means
partly for us to agree with God that He is right and we are not. It
means that we agree to do things His way and not our own. It means
that we trust Him over anything and anyone else, including ourselves.
He tells them, He tells us, that we must humble ourselves AND pray.
Pray for what? Perhaps we should start
with praying that his kingdom come on earth, here, as it is in
heaven. In other words, we should be praying, asking and proclaiming
that what God has ordered and ordained in heaven be made manifest
here in our lives, in our families, in our communities, and in our
nation. See if we are praying HIS kingdom here we are literally
praying for heaven on earth. And if we are living in hell right now,
that would be good news!
But God does not stop there, He further
requires that we seek his face and turn from our wicked ways.
The Hebrew words which are used for
“seek His face” normally refer to worship throughout the old
testament. However here it has a slightly different meaning, partly
due to the additional phrase to turn from our wicked ways. Here it
means to come back to God as a prodigal son would to his father. In
the context of the writing the father had all control over his
children. In those days he could beat them, make them work like
slaves, and even kill them. To return to a father as a prodigal son
was to return casting yourself fully upon the father's mercy and
grace. It was this type of complete reliance and trust in the
Heavenly father that God was requiring of His people, of us. He was
and does require that we return to Him and throw our very lives
before Him agreeing that He may kill or let live; raise us up and
restore us, or cast us down and push us away from His presence.
But God does not leave His people
wondering what He will do:
“ . . .then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Hear from heaven . . . forgive our
sins, our wrongs . . . and heal our land, . . . heal us.
Oftentimes I have read this verse and
not seen what I saw today. If you need an answer for how to find
healing in your life, here it is. If you need an answer on how to
find release from an obsession which seems to hold you here it is.
Humble yourself, pray, seek His face and turn from your wicked ways.
God promises that He will hear, He will
forgive and He will heal. And if you are wondering if He will really
hear you when you come to stand before Him in this manner, in this
way. Read the next verse.
“Now my eyes will be open and my ears
attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” (vs 15)
In THIS place of humbleness, pray,
seeking and returning, and turning from our sins He will be found
looking and listening. If you need healing . . . get to THIS place.
Got Word?
Love yah,
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