If My People who are called by My Name • Deshen Daily

If my people who are called by my name 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, ESV)

The world is in crisis and chaos. The Lord spoke to Israel, giving them instructions on what to do if they face any form of calamity in their land such as famine, pestilence or enemy invasion. He tells us that He will respond if His people will pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways. Let us quickly some components of this verse to shed more light on them.

We are God’s people here today. God puts the outcome of what happens in the land on His people. Jesus said we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Do you know that if Christians were not present in this world today, the wickedness and sin on earth today are capable of total destruction of the world? There are things that are not happening today because Christians are still preaching the truth as light in a dark place and resisting sin and Satan. You might not have realized this, but there are certain things not happening in your home or neighborhood because you are there.

He continues and says His people should humble themselves, pray and seek His face. Prayer is a sign of humility before God. It is an acknowledgment of our need for Him. Christians across the globe are responding in prayer against the coronavirus pestilence. Who can tell what would have happened if there was no prayer response? The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available. When we pray as a family, a greater measure of power to command changes is released.

As we pray, He commands us to turn from our wicked or ungodly ways. Righteousness exalts a nation and sin is always a reproach to any people. This coronavirus pandemic will not leave the world and the Church the same. Many unbelievers will awake to the reality of God and coming eternal condemnation from what is happening. Many Churches will be shaken to the core and there will be a shaking off of what God has not planted. It is time for repentance and turning away from sin. Responding in prayer while continuing in our sins is the definition of what empty Christian religion is.

If we pray and turn from our wicked ways, the Lord says He will heal our land. Remember, the verse above was not addressed to the world, the ungodly. God is not asking sinners to pray against calamities, for that prayer is useless. He is not asking the world to stop sinning, for they cannot. There is one prayer He is waiting from the world, and one thing He wants them to do: accept Jesus and escape from the pollutions of the world. The commandment above is for His people. He is calling us to order. The current state of most of the Church is like a sick and frail doctor in a hospital ward with dying patients. May the Lord touch your heart, and the Church worldwide to respond not only in prayer but in repentance and turning away from our sins and ungodly practices that have made their way in amongst us.

MEDITATE

What do you think will happen if the Church responds in prayer but continues in our sinful ways?

APPLY THE WORD

What is the Lord saying to you? Have you been moved to seek God in prayer in these difficult times? Are there any sinful ways you are aware of that you also need to turn away from? The Lord says if we pray and turn away from our sins, there will a move of the Spirit that will not only affect us individually but the Body of Christ as a whole and the world at large.