DEVOTION – DAY 328

2 Chronicles 7:14 “God’s Promise”

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

In 2 Chronicles, King Solomon had built the temple in Jerusalem and in 2 Chronicles 7, at the temple’s dedication, after King Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices. The glory of the Lord filled the temple. The fire was God’s way to show His divine acceptance at the dedication of the temple. Later, the Lord appeared to King Solomon at night and revealed to him that He would forgive His people their sins and He would heal their land if they would humble themselves, sought His face and repent of their wicked ways and pray for His deliverance. This promise still holds true today.

The problem is not with God. The problem is with us. God identified the problem, “if my people will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” We often allow pride to lead us into thinking we are able to solve all our problems on our own. There are people who think that they do not need God. They think religion is a crutch that only the weak will cling onto. They think they have everything figured out. But mankind is unable to resolve wars amongst nations. Mankind is unable to even agree on how to address climate change issues. The world we live in continues to be filled with problems with rising inflation, pollution, threats of contagions like Covid-19 and so on. But if people were to humble themselves and turn to God and confess and repent of their sinful ways, God will keep His promise to hear our prayers and heal the land and forgive our sins.

Nabeel Qureshi was a Muslim and was his parents only son. He knew the Koran but he was troubled by the many problems that continue to plague the world. In the Koran, Allah was a distant deity in the heavens. Nabeel had a problem reconciling the idea of an almighty Allah who seems unconcerned by the world’s problems. So, he began searching for answers and out of curiosity, he read the Bible. Later through dreams and visions, he accepted that Jesus was real and the gospel message was truth. He finally converted to Christianity at great personal cost to himself. He realized he had to humble himself and seek God and repent and he experienced God’s peace and love in return.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your promise to hear our prayers and forgive our sins when we turn to you and repent. We pray that we will always humble ourselves, confess and repent so that nothing stands between us and you. We pray this in the great name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Why do people not want to humble themselves and turn to God?
  2. Why is it important that people humble themselves, seek God, confess and repent of their sins? Discuss.
  3. How has God kept His promise to hear your prayers when you confess and repent of your sins? Share.
  4. How can you pray for someone you know who needs to humble himself or herself before God and repent of their ways?