2nd Chronicles 7: 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people.
Therefore, whenever these situations may occur, we should view them as a call to prayer, not merely for deliverance from the perplexity, but a call to repent, because in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the result of sin, in one form or another that causes the natural consequence. Even though this is an inconvenient truth that most persons prefer not to hear, it is the truth, and it will be necessary for us to come to come to grips with it, if nations and individuals may desire any meaningful change of fortunes.
Thus, our first passages teach us what we ought to do in such situations, for God delights in mercy, and as such, God lays out in the clearest terms possible the correct course of action to pursue, if nations or individuals seek a reprieve. The following therefore are the distinct instructions to be followed, and as we read and explain we must bear in mind that the expected results would follow like clockwork only after the stated prerequisites are fulfilled. Here they are:
The prerequisites: Humble themselves, Pray, Seek My face, Turn from their wicked ways. The results we can expect: I will hear, I will forgive, I will heal the land, I will listen to your prayer. Let’s begin with the first requirement: The humbling of ourselves. This includes the acknowledgement of any sin that triggered the perplexity in the first place since we must reason from cause to effect, in order for our prayers to make sense.
Proverbs 26: 2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!