II Chronicles 7:12-14 - “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by 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.”
On the occasion of Solomon’s dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, he received this powerful word about prayer from God himself. God foresaw a time when because of disobedience, his people would experience drought, plague, and disease and then gives the remedy for healing. In a word it is prayer.
Often this verse is taken out of context to refer to the “land” called America. But this is not about America. It originally referred to the Hebrew people and the land they lived in as God promised. But now, since through Jesus we are Abraham’s descendants, prayer that heals is for us as Christ-following people of God. Three parts make our prayers effective.
1) If we humble ourselves God hears. The act of prayer in itself is an admission that we can’t do it. We humbly come to God and ask for his help.
2). If we seek God’s face, he hears. When we pray we are seeking relationships with the Lord and what he is up to in our lives. Seeking is always rewarded by God with finding.
3). If we repent (“turn from our wicked ways”) God hears. We can not ask for God’s healing while continuing in the sin that has brought us pain. Ultimately, every prayer is a prayer of repentance as we always fall short of God’s glory.
It’s amazing that we can approach God in a way that brings healing - but more amazing still is that he hears.
Watch today's Mike Talk