![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/2_Chronicles_7_14_v02.jpg)
| “…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 |
The Scripture verse depicted in the graphic associated with this blog post is often quoted in exactly the way it is shown in the graphic. But, the context of that verse is so important that it sheds an even more serious light on this verse than its normal use would imply.
Here’s the context, taken from 2 Chronicles 7:13-22. The occasion is the dedication of the new temple that King Solomon has built, finishing the work that his father, King David, had hoped to bring about, but because of David’s sin, was prohibited by God from actually completing. God is speaking to King Solomon:
“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, 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. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
“As for you [Solomon], if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’
“But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
As you can see, the marvel and wonder of this oft-quoted verse lies within its context. Will God answer the fervent and earnest prayers of His people? Of course He will. Should we pray for our nation, the United States of America? Yes! Definitely! Will God hear from heaven and heal our land? Yes, I believe He will—most likely by sending a great, sweeping revival across the land from the east to the west and from the north to the south.
As we begin this new day, let’s begin by praying such a prayer: “O God, heal our land. Let Your righteousness flow down and over and through our land like a mighty river. Send Your showers of blessing. Like spring rains, let revival cover every inch of our nation—to the glory of Your mighty name. Amen.”
