The Path to God's Forgiveness

By Deb Marsalisi

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” — 2 Chronicles 7:13–15 (NIV)

Let me ask you a serious question: Have you looked around recently and wondered, “What the heck is going on? Has our country, or better yet, has the world gone stark raving mad?” Have you felt a thick blanket of wickedness in the air? You don’t even have to be an uber-Christian or super spiritual to see the world has lost its mind. We’re in a moral decline. We can't decipher right from wrong anymore. The Bible warns woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Those who do (the world system) are doing what’s right in their own eyes.

I know, I’m sorry, not the most cheerful way to start a daily devotional. But sometimes, an inspiring, uplifting devo to start the day isn’t always what’s needed. We need a war cry, a call to action. We need to pray for our country. We, the bride of Christ, need to get on our faces, weep and lament to our great and powerful God, and seek personal and national forgiveness.

Beloved and deceased pastor J Vernon McGee once said, “All Scripture is written for us, but not all Scripture is written to us.” Today's verse was written during the reign of King Solomon. Solomon had just completed the Temple in Jerusalem. The Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and he received today’s admonition. Although this was given to the nation of Israel, this statement also applies to all who acknowledge and call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 9:8; 2 Chronicles 6:32–33).

Today’s Scripture is a call to repentance: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves...” Humbling ourselves is more of a heart posture than forcing ourselves to behave humbly. It’s the recognition of God’s authority and sovereignty in our lives, acknowledging His greatness, power, might, and deep compassion for us — that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

“Pray”

It’s an unashamed cry of desperation over our sin. We need to intercede for our nation, which is desperate for truth. Not “my truth” or “your truth,” but God’s truth. One of the most effective weapons in spiritual warfare is prayer. But, do we really believe that? I want a prayer life like Daniel. He held prayer in such high regard that he was charged as a criminal and sentenced to death for openly praying three times a day. And not just any old death, death by public mauling in a lion’s death (Daniel 6:10–23), and he still refused to stop praying.

“Seek My face”

The Hebrew word for face can be translated as presence. The Lord is offering His very presence; it’s an invitation to intimacy. Think about when you look directly into someone’s face, there’s a relational closeness. He wants us to desire His presence. The same doorway to a deeper connection is found when we ask, seek, and knock. As we do, Jesus says the door will be opened to us (Matthew 7:7–23).

“Turn from their wicked ways”

Within the walls of the church, we see so much compromise and complacency. This isn’t a new problem. The Corinthian church struggled with sexual morality, selfishness, greed, unforgiveness, drunkenness, pride, and divisions. Visualize the physical action of turning — we’re being called individually and nationally to turn away from sin and start running toward God. The world’s not going to do that if the church isn’t willing to lead the charge.

Pause: Evaluate your relationship with prayer. Do you hold prayer in the highest regard? Would you risk everything for the right to pray openly?

Practice: What sins in your life have you been minimizing? Confess it to another trusted believer. In addition to turning away from this sin, journal why you keep turning to this sin, instead of turning to God.

Pray: Dear heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, I come to You on behalf of this great land. We have lost our way. We are afraid to call sin, sin. Please give me the courage to speak the truth in love. Help me to repent of my own sins so I can be the light of the world. Remind me that prayer is not a duty, but an opportunity for intimacy with You. Hold me tight Lord in the palm of Your mighty hand and never let me go. I am Yours and You are mine. Amen.