During the initial months of the lockdown in England, various scriptures were frequently repeated in prayer and Church meetings. Yet one of these has continued to be mentioned and in fact has increased in prominence over the past two months.
“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 is a well-known scripture that has been declared and prayed for decades, and due to the current world situation, many have been crying out these words afresh. But to be honest, some of these prayers bothered me. Consequently, I’ve thought and prayed about this scripture more than I have ever done previously.
Last month my church held a day of prayer and I was asked to lead a section of it. It was clear what the focus should be – returning to God – and the scripture would be 2 Chronicles 7:14.
I broke down the scripture into key phrases and we spent time praying through each one at length. During this, one of them surprisingly struck me more than the others. “I will hear from heaven.”
What was it about these words that stood out from others that are perhaps more significant?
As we prayed, I had a vision of God in His throne room, as described in Revelation 4 and 5. He was sat, in regal splendour, Glory and full authority. All around Him were the angels, elders and living creatures, worshipping, in adoration, reverence, awe and wonder. This was not some dictator type of figure demanding or even needing such praise. No. This was a picture of recognising God as He is – Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. The adoration given came from choice.
Position.
It is from this place that God hears our prayers. As we are on earth, it may seem that He is distant, yet He is constantly listening and watching for those who hearts are turned to Him and who are seeking righteousness. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
His throne room may seem far removed from our present reality and desperate needs, but He is closer to us than perhaps we realise, acknowledge or accept. But as we prayed, I realised this perceived distance can be instantly bridged, by action being taken from us, not by Him. It struck me deeply that our position is of vital importance. We ask and pray for God to move and change our nations – which He will – IF.
The scripture starts with this small key word, one that immediately puts the onus on us and gives us a choice. It is conditional.
Humility.
Presuming we wouldn’t be reading or praying this scripture if we weren’t ‘called by His Name’ i.e. believers, the first phrase of this scripture is a given. The next phrase though, requires more attention; it requires a significant action – humility.
I like the definition www.wordhippo.com gives to describe the word humble: “To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower… to abase the pride or arrogance of; to reduce the self-sufficiency of; to make meek and submissive.”
Humbling ourselves before God acknowledges a shift of power and control; that we are incapable of doing what needs to be done; that He is God and we are not and we need help. It is admitting our dependence on Him. We demote ourselves and promote God, viz we position Him to His rightful place of rulership, dominion, power and authority. From this posture we then pray, devoid of any arrogance and pride.
Then we are to seek His face – again another action. Remember the eyes of God are already roaming, to find those who are fully committed to Him. Therefore when we seek Him, we will find Him.
Do you remember playing Hide & Seek as a child? When we seek those who are hiding we cannot stay in one place; we have to move and go looking for them. It’s the same when we seek God. We are the ones who move, not Him.
The next phrase is also another action on our part and is one that requires its own blog. ‘Turn from our wicked ways’. This phrase is packed with meaning and significance. Without repentance, without confession of sin, without renouncing, changing and stopping our wrong choices/ wicked ways, the prayers for our nation will fall short. Maybe that’s hard to accept, but it’s like trying to say 2 + 2 = 3. It simply does not and can never be right. It’s close to the correct answer, but it’s wrong.
There are four requirements from us that need to occur, before God will hear. From where? Heaven. Why is it important to point that out? Because this is where God is positioned, and it’s from this place of absolute authority over us, the nations, the continents, the Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way etc, that He will act and move… by first hearing.
(NB: In this instance, I’m not denying the presence of the Holy Spirit Who is on the Earth, rather I’m establishing that all our prayers have a destination – Heaven.)
Too often we pray from a static position and expect God to be the One who moves and becomes active on our behalf. But that is the wrong way round. In terms of praying in repentance, it is solely up to us to bow our knees, humble our hearts and seek His face. We are the ones who need to move and be proactive, whilst our Holy God listens and then responds.
If we look very briefly at Nehemiah 1, when he heard the news of the Jews trouble and destruction of the wall in Jerusalem, he did five things before he asked God to hear him:
- He sat down – he humbled himself physically.
- He wept.
- He mourned.
- He fasted.
- He prayed.
Our position and attitude is absolutely crucial. Let us be wise in what we do first. Then for sure, God will hear us, forgive us and heal our land.
IF.
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TURN AND TRUST 