A NEW COVENANT PRAYER

 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)