This week in Crisis Counsels we turn our attention to a pivotal moment in the history of ancient Israel, when King Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem for the worship of God. During the dedication, Solomon led a worship service in which he offered a long prayer, asking that as people came to the temple in future years they might experience the fullness of God’s grace. After the close of the service, the Scripture continues:

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer . . . When the heavens are shut up so that there is no rain, or the locust devours the land, or pestilence comes among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
II Chronicles 7:12-14

Solomon is told that if great trouble comes upon the nation, and the people “humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways,” then God will forgive their sin and heal their land. At the present time, there is great trouble in our nation, both because of the pandemic and because of the legacy of racial injustice that has long plagued our society. The fundamental answer, according to this passage, is to pray.

Today Bishop Tracy Malone issued a call to all United Methodists in the East Ohio Conference to begin a 30-day “season of prayer” in response our present time of crisis. Specifically, she is asking people to pray at 8:46 a.m. and at 8:46 p.m. for 8 minutes and 46 seconds each time. Eight minutes and forty-six seconds was the length of time that the officer’s knee was on the neck of George Floyd. As we pray, may we seek God’s forgiveness for the sin of racism, God’s healing for the divisions in our land, God’s justice for all people in our nation, and God guidance to move rightly both through this pandemic and through the changes that we need to create a society in which all people are truly equal and free.

Prayer – Inspire us, O God, as we humble ourselves in prayer, to seek Your face. Click To Tweet

If you missed Sunday worship, you can join with the recorded service of either the 9:30 or 10:30 worship hours at live.kentmethodist.org

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.