Humble Yourself and Turn to God
The South African national anthem goes on with some words in isiZulu. Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo, which means, "Here are prayers. Lord, hear our petitions” and then “God bless us, Your children."
God’s Promise to Heal a Nation
Now, I'm sure you've heard that great verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Solomon had just finished building the temple, and God appears to him at night with a bunch of promises and warnings. God says to him, if there's no rain or locusts, or devouring the land, or if these plagues among the people, God says, “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 this and heal their land.”
And so when we sing this part of our national anthem, Yizwa imithandazo yethu to hear our prayers, hear our petitions, I think we need to ask ourselves whether we as a nation, as a people, are turning from our wicked ways, humbling ourselves, praying and seeking God's face.
Because as the Scripture says, then God will hear. Then God will listen. Then God will heal the land.
Starting Change With Ourselves
Really, this starts with us as individuals. That old Michael Jackson song comes to mind: "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make the change."
And so let's try to do that, friends. Let's turn from our wicked ways. Let's turn from our sins. Let's seek God's face. Let's humble ourselves and pray and pray for our nation, as we've been saying this week.
And perhaps if God's people around our nation will rise up and do that, this land will finally be healed once more.
Faithful prayer isn't only about asking God for things; it's rooted, above all, in genuine thanksgiving. Before you bring any request to God today, pause and thank Him first for who He is and what He has already done.