2 Chronicles 7:14 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (NIV)

Quoting this verse in times of trouble has made it a popular refrain among those who want to invoke the God of Heaven to intervene in their problems.

Such quotes are often accompanied by requests for others to pray for their land or nation.

It is altogether fitting that people should call upon the Name of the Lord in times of distress.  His Word encourages us to do so.  In fact, we should pray all the time.

However, there is something I would like to point out about this particular verse.

It seems God is setting down an order to the healing of the land in question.

• He is addressing the people who say they belong to Him.
• They must humble themselves – hmmm.  Is there a lot of humility going on by the people who say, “We are His.”?
• Pray – we have that down – hopefully.
• Seek My Face – that is what we ought to be doing when we pray.  Since we can’t actually see God’s Face and live (not according to Exodus 33:20), I believe that means we should seek His Presence; His will; or at least stand in His Holy Place.  Yet for us to do that the Bible says we must have clean hands and a pure heart and not trust in idols or swear by false gods – see Psalm 24.
• Turn from our wicked ways – Oh, oh.  Not only must we get cleaned up, we must want to head in the opposite direction of wickedness.

After this, the Lord says He will:

• Hear from Heaven (does that mean He wasn’t even listening to us before)?
• Forgive our sin.  Clearly He knows that we couldn’t really completely cleanse ourselves.  He has to complete that task on His own.
• Heal our land – It seems pretty clear that God’s priority here is for us to get right and return to Him.  Then, He will heal our land.  (Of course, God’s idea and ours, sometimes differ).

So, I guess it isn’t as easy as chanting a few words, shedding a languid tear, a dropping of loose change in a red pot at Christmas, or by clamoring for the vague restoration of morality by those who do not meet our standards.  It seems easier to cancel the mores of a culture or even its people by law or decree, then to cleanse the heart or renew a right spirit within our society.  And our land remains in distress.

Personally, I’m thinking that I am a real piece of work, but hopefully a piece of work progressing in the right direction.  I hope I’m not alone.