The above verse actually says it all. It was given in the Old Testament of the Bible and has stood as a promise from the beginning. It is the method whereby things are changed and conformed to the will of God. However it is conditional and requires that we must do our part in order to get the blessing it contains.

First we must be God’s people and called by His name, in other words we must be Christian. Obvious right? Not always so. There are many who claim to be Christian who are not. We must first secure our standing with God as this is the foundation for all the rest to actually work. Being God’s people means discipleship and a living sacrifice of our desiring of the things of the world. We must “pick up our cross” to really follow Jesus.

Second we must humble ourselves. If we think we have the solution, or that we can change things by our own actions and methods, then we haven’t humbled ourselves before God to allow Him to take over. We are too busy standing in the way by trying to apply the solutions that we deem right. This is called self-righteousness, and it does give room to humility as it places our own mortal righteousness before God. So we must get out of the way, to make way for God.

Third we must pray. Prayer is the greatest power on earth given to mankind. As one dictionary (Infoplease online) puts it; prayer is, “a spiritual communion with God”. This is much like an old dictionary in which I found this definition, “prayer is a communion with the mind of God…” So we see that prayer is not just a mindless petition without power or hope, but rather a connection with the very mind of God. This places God directly into the situation. And like the noonday sun, the darkness must flee!

Fourth we must seek God AND turn from our wicked ways. These are not two different things here. Seeking God you MUST turn from wickedness. It states in Romans 8:6-8, “For to be carnally minded (sin, wickedness) is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Here we see why we must seek God, because being carnal (of the world and it’s ways) takes us from the law (power) of God which renders us powerless to please (have kinship with) God.

This would make it impossible to place God in the center of the problem.

This is also how we become the people of God and called by His name. Here we see a perfect circle of power in God. That in knowing, seeking and communing with God, we establish a relationship that only grows stronger and more powerful. This is how we walk in the power of our faith. This is how we find our solutions in this world, because God is the answer to everything! His very presence makes any given situation to have to conform to His will, His power, His strength, and His authority. This is the solution we are looking for, because He is perfect, and the situation must conform to His perfection.

How does God provide the solution?

Well, God (who can not lie) just said that if we do these things He will do three things in return. First, He will hear us, until this point our prayer have limited power. Then He will forgive us our sins. In other words the first thing that gets conformed to the will of God is our lives. We are transformed from a son of perdition into a son of the living God. God first takes care of us! Then second, He will heal our land. What does that really mean, how does that apply? Well, let’s take a look at our problem situation.

Our land, taking a literal meaning here, is by definition where we live, either physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. It is where your life is focused. In the physical sense we are being attacked as Christians where we live physically. Yes, this can have mental, emotional and spiritual impact, but we are talking about the concerted efforts in the public square against living openly as Christians — and God is saying that He will heal this. As already explained, He will do this by making “the land” conform to His will and authority. Anything unlike God will either conform or be destroyed (nullified), as God is perfect and anything not perfect must become perfect or perish.

This is why God has always said, “the battle is the Lord’s”, as it always has been.

So let’s back up and see what we have. First we must understand that to address any and all problems in life we must put God into the middle of it. We do this by first being His people that are called by His name. Then we must humble ourselves, pray, seek Him and repent of our sins (turn away from them). What this does is put ourselves in a position to receive His forgiveness and healing. In other words, this is HOW we place ourselves to receive the blessing of the promise. Then God will hear us, clean our lives of sin and heal our land. We get everything in this one promise, as this places God in the middle of our lives and all the circumstances we live in. They MUST conform to His will, power, strength and authority. This is again, IS the power of our faith in our lives.

And when God is for us, who can be against us?

Be blessed, be loved and be at peace,

Jonathan