God Will Hear Our Cries From Heaven

Covid 19 Update - 3/31/20
Last Sunday, March 29,  the stay at home order was extended to the end of April. I wonder if that will be enough time for the virus to run it’s course? I also wonder what that will do to our economy? Will we collapse into a depression? On those not so cheery notes; I will share a verse that has been on my mind in the last few days... a verse that is really our only hope.

“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, I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJ

King Solomon dedicated the newly finished temple to God for Him to dwell among His people.*  The night after Solomon dedicated the temple, the LORD appeared to him and said,

“I have heard your prayer 

and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, 

or command the locusts to devour the land, 

or send pestilence among My people,

if my people who are called by My name 

will humble themselves...” 

The key verse at the top of the page,  is what God said for His people to do when pestilence comes. I didn’t know what the word pestilence meant so I looked it up. The concordance says it is a plague. My dictionary defines it as:
 “Diseases that spread rapidly, causing many deaths. Smallpox, yellow fever,  and the plague are pestilence. A synonym is epidemic.”

Wow, very sobering, yet at the same time hopeful. This verse is well known and loved by God’s chosen people across the globe who are struggling in an enormous crisis beyond their control. Now is such a time of global crisis with nearly every country in the whole world infected with this virus.

In this verse at the top, God Himself sets forth what His people are to do to receive His gracious healing. This verse gives God’s chosen people a path to restoration, through the prayers of His people, and provides a guide for prayers for revival across our world.  

The verse begins with ”IF”, which brings up implies questions. Will we even do what He is calling us to do in a crisis? We need to ask ourselves: “Am I willing to do this? Am I His one of His people? Am I called by His name? A CHRISTian? Am I willing to answer His call and do what He says?”

He is calling us who are His people, who are called by His name to do two things:


In Humility to Pray and to Seek God’s Face: 
Jesus tells us how to pray in Matthew 6:6-13:

“When you pray, 

go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, 

and pray to your Father in private. 

Then your father who sees everything will reward you.” 

Matthew 6:6 NLT

Turn from our wicked ways:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

So humble yourselves before God.

 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Come close to God and God will come close to you. 

Wash your hands you sinners;

 purify you hearts for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 

Let there be tears for what you have done. 

Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” 

James 4:10 NLT

Those are very strong verses and we may not even want to see ourselves in those verse. Our country and our world is in crisis, so it is critical that we come to God with a pure heart. If we are to seek His Face, our heart must be pure. Jesus tells us,

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” 

Matthew 5: 8. 

Each of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, progressively bring our hearts to this place with God. I re posted the commentaries on the first three and a few on fourth one.

Also it is worth while to read Daniel’s prayer for His people in Daniel 9. He prayed so beautifully, pleading before God to restore Jerusalem and His temple. Jerusalem in Daniels time was completely desolate. The beautiful temple Solomon built was destroyed because the people rebelled against God and fell into sin; much like our country and our world today. As he prayed he spoke of we. “We have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled... we have refused to listen... Lord, you are in the right, but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us... But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him...” He humbled himself before God and took on the sins of his nation.

Daniel Prays for His People

IF we Humble ourselves and pray, if we seek His Face; THEN God will do three things in response:
He will hear us from heaven:
He will forgive our sin:
He will HEAL our land:

God’s promise to us if we do this is He will hear us, He will forgive our sins and bring healing to our land. I hope to fill in more with verses for above another time.

Lord, I pray that I will take this directive to heart that You LORD gave to Solomon for Your people in that time and also prayer of Daniel. I pray that others who are called by Your name across this globe, this beautiful earth that You created will also take this to heart, that we will humble ourselves before you, that we will pray, and seek Your Face, your glory, and turn from any sins you reveal to our hearts. I pray LORD that you will hear from heaven a powerful chorus of Your beloved praying from the depths of our hearts for healing across the world from this virus. I pray you will forever quench it completely and send it to the pit of hell never to surface again. Hear our prayers I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

*The temple was a permanent place for God to dwell in, rather than the tabernacle, (the tent) He dwelt in as His people traveled from Egypt to Israel. Later Israel fell into sin and God allowed people to destroy Jerusalem and the country. The people were taken away and Jerusalem was left desolate.