If My People
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and 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.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
This passage from the account of Solomon’s building and dedication of the temple has become well known and appreciated in recent years throughout the Christian world. We believers share a strong assurance that the mighty God of creation, the One who formed us and gives purpose to our lives, also commits himself to respond to the prayers of His people, “those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice”.
Many of us involved in the struggle to transform our culture are comforted as we read these words and apply them to our deteriorating society. We long for the day when Truth will triumph. We desire to be light in the darkness and a healing balm in the wounds of our crumbling civilization. We believe that God is able and willing to do His part and we go to great lengths to make Him known to our friends and neighbours—so that one day Canada will stand strong among the nations, a beacon of light and an overflowing basket of prosperity. All this is good and we must continue to reach out, to speak up, to sound the alarm and to extend the hand of mercy. But if we are ever to see our country turned to righteousness we must lay hold on this precious and conditional promise of God.
With the little word “If”, God hands us the keys of the kingdom. God desires even more than we do that righteousness comes to Canada and that all people everywhere become fruitful participants in His kingdom. God’s power and ability do not depend on fallen man. He created the universe from nothing and He rules the raging of the seas. His Will is to hear our prayers, forgive our sin and heal our land. He promises to do that “If” His people will do their part. And “His people” do not need to wait for anyone else. We will not have more power to respond to this invitation if we win an election or a referendum. In fact, we may never achieve the righteous goals we set for ourselves if we do not FIRST humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.
This involves praying for unity in the body of Christ. This involves putting God’s purposes first in our lives. This involves asking His guidance for and His blessing on all that we do. THEN He will move in a mighty way in our nation so that even those who have not known Him will see His hand of healing on our land, our waters, our forests, our crops, our cities, our families and yes, our governments. God WILL hear our prayers and honour the commitments we make as the body of Christ—to work together and to pray together, trusting in His faithfulness. We need not wait for anyone else. We need to wait ON the Lord. His promises are sure and His word will never fail. We need to roll up our sleeves and get on our knees. Almighty God has put so much into our hands. His great delight will be to answer our prayers as we come together to seek His face and His kingdom.