Second Chronicles 7:14 is one of the most misapplied verses
in Scripture:
“. . .
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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)
There is no guarantee in this passage that God will heal
"the land" of Christians who "humble themselves, and pray, and
seek (God's) face, and turn from their wicked ways." The context clearly
applies to Israel under the Mosaic covenant, and the prayer was to be made
"in this place" (v. 15), that is, the temple in Jerusalem. The
bizarre notion, introduced by the Puritans, that America is the new Promised
Land persists, and the expectation of physical, material blessings is all too
prevalent in modern Christendom.
The New Covenant blessings of God, however, transcend this
fallen world and cause the true Christian to rejoice in a greater hope. The Apostle Peter helps us refocus our hope on new heavens
and a new earth:
“ But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore,
since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to
be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the
day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His
promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2
Peter 3:10-13)
Jesus
taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) That is the proper New Covenant prayer we should offer.
And it will be fulfilled in the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-5)
