As we look around, we can see that the land we are living in is sick. Not only is the economy sick, but people are also falling ill. There are many people dying of all kinds of sicknesses and we are practically helpless. Yet, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we find comfort in the word of the Lord in 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.” God will always have special affection for his people, the Jews, yet on account of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we, too, are special before him. The apostle Peter said, “But you are a chosen people…a people belonging to God…Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
However, before we can offer a fervent prayer to God, we need to humble ourselves before him. To humble ourselves before the Lord is not only to bow our hearts before him, but to literally bend our knees before our great God. To do so is to acknowledge that we are nobody. Only a humble person will bow his knees before God and God will surely honour him, for we are told in Scriptures that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). The prayer itself should not be tainted with pride, but should be uttered in utmost humility. To emphasize that prayers should be sincere and inward-looking, Jesus used the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector to teach his disciples humility. Rather than repenting of his sins, the Pharisee used the occasion to judge others and lift himself up, saying, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” On the other hand, the tax collector could not even lift his eyes up to God, but beating his breast uttered, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God” (Luke 18:11-14).
Since sin has caused God not to hear prayers, we need to repent of our sins. However, repentance is not merely confessing our sins, but resolving to turn away from sin. It is only then that God will hear our prayers, because sin is a snare. We are clearly told in Scriptures that God is mighty and he hears prayers, but there is only one thing that could stop him from showing his might or hearing our prayers and that is sin. The prophet Isaiah said, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). God is forgiving. No matter how bad we could have been, he is willing to forgive and is able to restore us.
The land is sick because of sin. This all started with Adam. When Adam sinned, God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you…by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food” (Gen. 3:17-19). No wonder the land no longer produces as much food as before, because of the sin of the people. Instead of producing food, it produces thorns and thistles. The people are also sick and this is the result of disobedience. After Moses enumerated all of the laws and the blessings that go with their faithful obedience, he warned the Israelite that their disobedience will cause them physical sufferings. He said, “The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind” (Deut. 28:27-28). While the people could have not fully grasped the severity of this penalty then, these sicknesses are now very real these days. Incurable tumors and cancers are now prevalent. Many have gone crazy trying to put things together, since they are now blind to the truth of the gospel and they follow the ways of this world blindly.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should not be dismayed by all of these occurrences. Rather, we should put our faith in him and be obedient to his commands. He promised, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). There is indeed healing of the land and of the people. God himself is our healer, yet he wants us to humble ourselves before him and pray. He will surely hear our prayers as we commit to love him and obey him. God is our healer. Hallelujah!
