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 and tomorrow I want to dig a little 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.

 

I’ll wrap up my thoughts on this tomorrow.