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"and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2Ch.7:14). This is a famous verse Christians quote when they face a calamity in their land or country. But in most cases no healing takes place, even after large groups of Christians gather together to pray. It is not because God's word is not true or that He does not keep His promises, but we have misunderstood the verse when we lifted it out of context!

This was what King Solomon asked God to do, when he dedicated the Temple he had built in Jerusalem for God. Here God is agreeing to reverse the calamity and heal the land if the people humbled themselves and returned to Him. We must not forget the fact that this 'land' was the country of Israel, God's people. If God was sending this calamity to the land of Israel, it was because Israel had sinned and turned away from God (read chapter 6). The calamity was the punishment from God for their sins, and when they repented from their sins, they would be healed!

Can we now claim this for our countries where we are living, where the people of God are only a small minority? If the people of the country have sinned, neglected God, blasphemed God, worshipped idols, broken all His commandments with disdain, persecuted God's people, etc., and God chooses to reach out to them by sending them warnings, can we humble ourselves and hope that the calamity will pass? Won't we be praying against what God is trying to accomplish?

Calamities are one way God tries to catch people's attention, wake them up from their spiritual sleep and help them to think seriously about their lives. They happen here and there, and now and then, but generally speaking, what we notice is that instead of turning to God, people get angry with God (Re.16:9), or distract themselves from serious thoughts by burying themselves in entertainment or drinks.

Shall we pray more intelligently that God will turn people's hearts to Him in the midst of calamities, and that people will come to the end of themselves with all their cleverness, science and technology, and turn to God instead of boasting in themselves? Shall we use such occasions to share with people about the love that God has for everyone and how He demonstrated it through the cross?

Of course, we too need to humble ourselves if we have not been shining as lights before the world but losing our own taste as salt because of careless living (Mt.5:13,14). Have we taken God for granted and neglected to do His will in our lives? Have we been paying little attention to get to know Him and His ways from His word? Have we even been the reason why God's name is being derided by unbelievers (Ro.2:23,24). It is good to humble ourselves. But let us remember the entire country is not us, and we must pray only along the lines that God is dealing with the country as a whole.

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