232. Hear, Forgive, Heal
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, the seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
This is a fairly famous verse, usually used in conjunction with encouraging prayer for our nation. It is used on the National Day of Prayer and other patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July. The direct context, of course, is not the United States. In context the Lord is answering Solomon’s Temple Dedication Prayer. The “my people which are called by my name” is the nation of Israel under Solomon, and then in time God’s people becomes all the people who believe in the Messiah, Jesus. Thus the promise applies to the invisible Church, the Body of Christ. If this verse is applied to our Country it would be directed to the Christians living in the nation.
The promise is obviously conditional: if you humble yourself, pray, seek the Lord, and repent of sin, then God will hear, forgive and heal. The promise can certainly be applied to America, at least the Christians in it; it can be applied to the Church, even an individual congregation; and it can also be applied to an individual believer, his life, his family, his church, or his country. The condition is common in Scripture: humble, pray, seek, and turn. In one word: Repent! 1) Humble yourselves, be willing to admit to being a shameful sinner, discover and root out pride in the heart, and do not think you don’t need help; 2) Pray the essence and meaning of the Lord’s Prayer for yourself, your family and your nation; 3) Seek the Lord and His Kingdom, be willing to lay everything else aside for the “one thing needful,” as such seeking simply means getting rid of the impediments (sins, pride, unbelief) in the way of seeing the Lord who is near; 4) Turn from your wicked ways means simply forsake besetting sins and stubborn false teachings, and such “turning” never ends because the deceitful heart keeps turning back, away from God’s presence.
Then the Lord will hear from the heaven in your spirit, He will forgive your sins, and He will heal the kingdom that rules in your soul. In the Kingdom, under God’s reign, all is peaceful and prosperous, all is well, and we are healed. We pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and we are made whole, again.