“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 will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
4 conditions to fulfill: if you humble, pray, seek God’s face and turn from wicked ways
THEN-means we are activating God’s response based on fulfilling those conditions.
This is God’s restoration process – He is ready to restore HIS people.
I. I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN
God is willing to restore the status of repenting people of Israel.
But God loves to hear prayer from a genuinely repenting heart.
Those prayers will be answered according to His will and purpose.
Though God is so close to us, we need to keep in mind that HE hears from heaven.
That means there will be delays in His response.
Sometime it takes a long time for the reply to travel from God’s dwelling place
II. FORGIVE THEIR SIN
First response from God towards restoration process is granting forgiveness.
We know for sure that sin keeps corrupting us daily in some fashion or the other.
Because we live in a sinful world sin always impacts our life.
Before Christ, God was forgiving the Israelites through their faithful obedience to the Law, offering sacrifices for sin, and approaching God with reverential fear and worship.
Today God forgives us thru Lord Jesus Christ.
We are justified once – sanctified all the days of our life.
III. HEAL THEIR LAND.
In the healing process, a person gets well from physical sickness.
Healing can be physical, financial and spiritual.
It is not just blessing with good crop but providing relief for all aspects of hardships.
Healing is one of the process reflecting God's blessings upon His people.
Not just their lands but also their families, their societies and nation as a whole.
Historically speaking God blessed the Israelites only after they repented for their wickedness.
God is ready to heal their spiritual blindness also.
Spiritual blindness is far more dangerous than the physical sickness.
Physical sickness leads to the death of the body but spiritual blindness leads to eternal death of the soul.
CONCLUSION
1. God will see each and every one who comes there – He will take notice of each individual.
2. God will hear every word of prayer offered at the temple.
3. God has chosen and consecrated the temple after dedication.
4. God’s abiding presence and God’s heart is with His temple always.
When the temple was functioning as a place of worship and sacrifices, God’s presence was there in the temple and at the temple.
God’s presence was removed because of their rebellion and wickedness.
There is no more temple of original magnitude.
As we are under the new covenant, we become His living temples – our hearts.
God is assuring us that our hearts are chosen and consecrated for Him.
He lives with us, He lives in us and He is with us always.
God’s promises are true today in each and every believer’s life as long as he/she is fulfilling the conditions cited in the verse.
Add your name to this verse
“If (my people) your name here, who is (are) called by (My) Christ’s Name, will humble (themselves) himself /herself and pray and seek (My) Christ’s face and turn from (their) his/her wicked ways, then (I) God will hear from heaven and will forgive (their) his/her sin and will heal (their) his/her (land) life.”