“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. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there” (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).
Every year Christians in America celebrate a national day of prayer. They use Second Chronicles as their mantra and recite it with the hope that ‘God will heal the land of America.’ No one considers the context in which the prayer was spoken and for whom. This prayer was not a call for the repentance of America or India or Russia, but for national Isra’el.
How the first Thursday in May was chosen for the national day to pray for America when it has nothing to do with the Scriptures or God’s holy days? As Christians pray for God to ‘heal the land of America,’ they choose a day that has nothing to do with God of Isra’el to whom they are praying. They don’t acknowledge Isra’el or the Jewish people. What happened to Isra’el was written for our learning, but it doesn’t seem anyone is learning (1 Corinthians 10:11).
“But if you turn away and abandon my regulations and mitzvot [commandments] which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, worshiping them; then I will pull them up by the roots out of the land I have given them. This house, which I consecrated for my name, I will eject from my sight; and I will make it an example to avoid and an object of scorn among all peoples. This house, now so exalted — everyone passing by will be shocked at the sight of it and will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?’ But the answer will be, ‘It’s because they abandoned the LORD the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and took hold of other gods, worshiping and serving them; this is why [the LORD] brought all these calamities on them.’”
God chose and consecrated the ‘Temple’ in Jerusalem so that His name would be there forever; however, there were conditions linked to this promise. Since Adonai is the same yesterday and tomorrow, His conditions for forgiveness, healing, and restoration remain the same today especially if Americans want ‘healing in their land.’
Like Isra’el, the America has gone astray. God’s commandments have been abandoned by those who should be a light to the world. Pagan gods are worshiped in the ‘name of Jesus’ creating a lukewarm religious culture. Doctrines of grace teach the ‘end of the law’ and the commands of Adonai are considered abolished for this gentile nation. Lawlessness grows while American Christians pray for healing with no repentance for their grievous sins.
As the day of Yom Kippur approaches, ‘temples of God’s Spirit,’ should be joining with Jewish people around the world and repent of abandoning the God of Isra’el for other gods, customs and traditions; other ways of worshiping Him than He outlined in Torah. If Americans want to claim the words, “If my people who are called by my name,” they must also accept the reasons that have brought chaos on this country and the world. They must accept responsibility for turning against God’s commandments. We must repent for our unrighteous judgments and sins. If Americans truly desire a national day of prayer and repentance, why not join with Isra’el on the Yom Kippur, God’s ‘appointed time’.
Update 2020: This Yom Kippur there was a call to repentance in Washington, D.C. People from all nations and all walks of Christiandom came together and repented for the sins of this country. They called for unity between Jew and gentile. They proclaimed the name of Yeshua! Will God hear and forgive?
©2016 Tentstake Ministries Publishing, all rights reserved. No copying or reproducing of this article without crediting the author or Tentstake Ministries Publishing.