In my last two devotions I have mentioned this passage.

2 Chronicles 7:14 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Today I want to dign deeper into this with you. This passage presents a logical progression, a condition and response, an “If … Then” statement. One of the first things I learned in programming computers was about “If … Then” statements. These occur everywhere. Their purpose is to determine the outcome.

• IF a condition is true, the part of the program after the word THEN takes place.
• IF the condition is false, the part after the word THEN is ignored.

That is what God is setting up here in response to Solomon’s prayer.

IF my people…again, these are His chosen people that He is speaking to, those with whom He already has a relationship. He sets up four conditions

• Humble themselves – This was important. Under David, Israel had become a world power. Under Solomon’s reign Israel grew even more. It would be easy for them to forget about God and think they had done it all by their own power. They needed to acknowledge what God had done for them in humility.
• Pray – God’s people are reminded to speak to Him. This was not for God’s benefit, but for theirs. By speaking to God they would remind themselves where their help came from.
• Seek His face – The people with whom God already has a relationship are encouraged to seek His face, to try to get close to Him, to stay in His presence. This means they would understand who He is and what He would have them do.
• Turn from their wicked ways – This is what it means to repent: to do a 180, an about face, to turn away from sin and towards God.

God tells His people if they will humble, pray, seek and turn, THEN He will

• Hear – He will listen and be aware of our situation
• Forgive – Because of faith in His promises, people can be forgiven by God.
• Heal this land, which was a reference to easing the suffering and problems.

God’s actions were promised in response to His people believing in Him. The IF part of the formula describes faith in action. The THEN part of the formula is God’s promise to His faithful people. God is doing the promising, the acting, the giving. The people were merely invited to take God up on His offer.

You  and I are people who already have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. In His love and mercy He has reached out to us with the offer of forgiveness for Jesus sake. Through His life and death and resurrection He has done all that is necessary for us to be saved, to be God’s people called by His name. Because of that, because God has chosen us to be His people, these words from 2 Chronicles also apply to us. Let’s go through the outline again, making it more personal:

IF my people – you and I who are His children through faith in Jesus.

• Humble – When things are going well, we forget about God and assume that is just the way things should be if you work hard, rather than recognizing our good fortunes as blessings from God. We need to humbly acknowledge that God’s providence has blessed us tremendously, giving us homes and family, work and leisure, freedom and liberty. Be humble before God.
• Pray – This is an admonition bears repeating. If you want God to answer you, you have to speak to Him. Let Him know that you know He is there and in control by talking to Him.
• Seek – We need to seek His face always. We want to be on His good side, which is what this phrase implies. We don’t want God to turn His back on us, but desire to be where His face shines on us. We want to live always in His presence.
• Turn – We do that by admitting our sins and turning from them. That does not mean a thoughtless recitation of “I, a poor miserable sinner…” but a heartfelt admission that it was my sin, my guilt, that caused Jesus to die. That kind of admission will bring about a turning.

If you and I will humble and pray and seek and turn THEN God will:

• Hear – we know that God hears, since He promised that He would for Jesus’ sake.
• Forgive – That is what Jesus had come for. That is what He did. He gave Himself up for us, died and rose again so that we might be forgiven. Faith in Him makes that forgiveness your possession. God forgives you for Jesus’ sake.
• Heal – Easing of the suffering and problems all around us. Let’s face it, our lives and our nation need healing. People are not civil to one another in the public square. This nation of ours is one of the finest on earth, but it is still in need of a lot of healing. As those who are part of the family of faith, part of that nation whose God is the Lord, we have a responsibility to live up to. If you want the United States of America to be a nation under God, you must be a people under God. Take your stands for God, make your voices heard, Lift High the Cross. Share the Good News so that more people will be God’s people. And show God’s love in your words and your actions. If you and I are living the way God tells us to in this passage, that will go a long way toward healing this land.

We must take God at His Word.

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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We have been promised that when we humble ourselves, pray, seek, and turn from our wickedness, GOD will hear, forgive, heal –for Jesus Sake!