Scripture
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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Observation
This is one of the most well-known promises of Scripture and yet, until recently, I’m not sure I ever fully understood it. Look at the amazing things that happen when the people of God begin to pray! The restoration of identity (“My people”, “My name”) results in the restoration of authority (“their land”). The corporate position of humility (“humble themselves”, ”turn from their wicked ways”) leads to a corporate provision of healing (I will heal). The Hebrew word for “humble themselves” is the word picture for “folding or binding together”. The Hebrew word for “heal” is a word picture for “repairing or sowing” a torn garment. When we are humble together we are healed together. When we stop pointing fingers we become healing hands. When we start seeking God’s face we show His face to the world around us. We’ve all heard the phrase “hurt people hurt people”. The opposite is also true. Healed people heal people. Right now our world desperately needs some healing people and this healing starts with prayer!
Application
I feel the effects of emotional whiplash right now. With the wonderful news of President Trump's speech declaring churches as “essential” for the reopening of our country I rejoice in knowing we will gather again soon. At the same time I received news of how many people are in soul-crushing pain right now and my heart grieves. Doctors in Northern California say they have seen more deaths from suicide than they’ve seen from the coronavirus during the pandemic. “The numbers are unprecedented,” Dr. Mike de Boisblanc of John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California, told ABC 7 News about the increase of suicide deaths adding that he’s seen a “years worth of suicides” in the last four weeks alone. California has had around 4300 suicides this year. The most in the country! According to a recent article I read the Emergency Medical Services have seen a drastic increase in calls for mental health concerns and drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in certain areas of our country. In Milwaukee County, for instance, “There has been a 70 percent increase in EMS responses to mental health concerns, a 54 percent increase in responses to drug overdoses and a “very concerning” 80 percent increase in responses to suicide attempts”. Though the hard work of social distancing has been paying off to flatten the curve of COVID-19 it seems in many ways the cure is worse than the disease. All of this drives me back to the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14. I’ve been a part of the unite714.com prayer movement during this pandemic and I just want to encourage everyone to join me. Please visit the site for resources, but if nothing else, commit to praying for our land at 7:14 am and 7:14 pm. It’s a simple discipline that has kept me coming back to God’s heart for those around me when it’s easy to just focus on myself. I simply set a reminder on my phone for the morning and evening and then choose to stop what I’m doing and pray this scripture over what’s right in front of me and what’s all around me. There are few things more humbling then prayer because it feels to my flesh like nothing is happening. The truth is we can’t go in person where we haven’t first gone in prayer. It's why prayer and humility are directly connected in this scripture. As we pray God will direct our hearts. I want to encourage you to reach out to those who have been off the grid, those who you haven’t heard from, those that God brings to mind. We aren’t The Church when the buildings open up. We are the Church when our hearts open up to being His healing hands and feet to the world around us through prayer.
Prayer
Lord, I know that even though things are moving in the right direction for our country there are many who are lacking direction for their lives. I pray for the marriage on the rocks, the rage boiling up against their kids, the addictions that have taken even deeper root during this downtime. I pray for the man or woman who feels so isolated and alone they have believed the lie that their life doesn’t matter and that no one will miss them if they are gone. I pray for a lifting of the spirit of heaviness and the clothing of a garment of praise. I pray that we, as Your people, would be a source of healing through Your love, rather than a source of hurt that pushes people away. Make us a people of prayer for that is how the Kingdom advances!
Glenn Burris recently posted this reminder:
Jesus prayed at his baptism.
Jesus prayed before he chose his disciples.
Jesus prayed when he was exhausted.
Jesus prayed before miracles.
Jesus prayed as a model for his disciples. Jesus prayed before his greatest betrayal. Jesus prayed during his most painful suffering. Jesus prayed for unity among his followers. Jesus prayed. So should we.
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