We have received extensive instruction through the media for managing the coronavirus epidemic. What is needed in addition to that is how to deal with it on a spiritual level. In reality, the spiritual realm drives the material world, not visa versa. The instruction I am about to share is for Christians. There is only one instruction for the ungodly: turn from your sin to God, surrender your life to the LORD, and embrace Christ as your Savior. After Peter preached Christ on the Day of Pentecost, the people asked him what they should do. Peter’s answer was, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. . . .”1 If you’re not in right relationship with God, now is the time to turn to Him with all your heart. Ask God to forgive you of your sins and take over your life.
For the Christian, every crisis is a call to seek God. He is a very present help in time of trouble.2 I appreciate the efforts our government is making to lead us through this crisis. One reason the 1918 pandemic was so devastating was the lack of this kind of leadership. However, that is not our ultimate source of safety. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,” David said, “But we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Ps.20:7). He is not saying we will not use chariots or horses. His focus is on what we are relying on in our hearts. If the government sends me a $ 1,000 check, I will receive it. But I am not relying on the government to take care of my basic needs. Our government is $ 23 trillion in debt. This crisis will add at least another trillion to that figure. They are actually making you sign a promissory note for $ 1,000 to give you $ 1,000. I think it’s a wise thing to do at this time. But we must see it for what it is. The government is very good at creating debt; it cannot create wealth. In contrast, God can create something out of nothing. He can speak galaxies into existence. He can turn water into wine. He can feed thousands with five loaves of bread and two small fishes, and do it without going into debt. If you need manna, He can rain it down from heaven. If you need water, He can bring it out of a rock. His resources are unlimited because He is infinite and omnipotent. Make sure you keep your eye on Him as you walk through this crisis. His eye is on the sparrow, and He is watching over you.3
How do we turn this epidemic around? Does the Bible teach us how to deal with it? Yes, we have abundant instruction in the word of God—the most reliable manual in any crisis. My focus this morning is on how to pray about it. For prayer to be effective we must do it God’s way. How should we pray at this time?
I. At the right time we PRAY AN AUTHORITATIVE PRAYER commanding the plague to cease.
There is an appropriate time to tell a mountain to be removed or a fig tree to dry up and die.4 It comes after we have gotten properly aligned with God. Otherwise, we are just "howling at the moon." Don’t begin with screaming at the virus. Begin with submitting yourself to God. Begin with confessing your sins. Begin with personal repentance and renewed consecration to God.
Last week we pointed out the application of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 to our current crisis. Notice the setting in verse 13. In times of crisis, do this! "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 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."
There is no command here to rebuke the devil. The command is to get right with God. The command is to humble yourselves, pray, seek God, and turn from your wicked ways. The lack of that is what opened the door for the problem in the first place. If we opened the door by our wicked ways and neglect of relationship with God, then we close the door by turning from our wicked ways and seeking God.
The first step is submission to God. James 4:7: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Notice the order: submit to God, then resist the devil. That will produce results. Resisting or rebuking the devil when we have not submitted ourselves to God is not effective. The authority we can exercise in the spiritual realm is in direct proportion to the level of our submission to God. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19 NIV). In John 15:5 Jesus said something similar about you and me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” To operate out of a carnal mind, on our own initiative, is futile. Authoritative prayer flows out of abiding in the vine. It comes as we hear God in the Spirit, speak what He is saying, insist on what He is willing. Our prayer must always be an execution of His will. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
We can petition God for whatever we need, but authoritative prayer depends on alignment with the will of God. 1 John 5:14 gives assurance of answered prayer: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” The next verse affirms the answer, but we must not ignore the condition: “if we ask anything according to His will.”5 Three things need to be lined up for authoritative prayer: (1) the will of God (2) the timing of God and (3) a life submitted to God. James 5:16: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” “The effective, fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man avails much.” In fact, God told unrighteous people that He would NOT hear their prayers. Listen to what He says to them in Isaiah 1:15-16. "When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil."
It’s not the volume of prayers that gets God’s ear; it’s a submitted, obedient heart. James says that we can resist the devil and he will flee from us. But let’s get the context for that in James 4:7-10. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."
Why am I emphasizing this? It is because we can miss the point of it all if we jump right into rebuking the devil. First, we must get in right relationship with God. Then we can assert authority against the devil and disease.
Part of praying in the will of God is submission to God’s timing.6 During the first three plagues on Egypt God allowed the plagues to strike His own people as well as the Egyptians (Ex. 8:22-24). People with overly simplistic theology are baffled by this. Why would God allow His own people to be afflicted with polluted water, frogs, and lice? He was getting their attention as well as the Egyptians. He was preparing them to exit Egypt. He was disturbing their nest so they would follow Moses to the Promise Land. To stand up and command those plagues to cease before God had accomplished His purposes through them would have been futile. Once they had served their purpose with the Israelites, God made a distinction between them and the Egyptians. None of the other plagues touched them. Jesus moved in the timing of the Father.7 We must move in the timing of God.
Those plagues affected ALL the Israelites. In our individualistic society we underestimate the connectiveness of God’s people. When one member suffers, we all suffer. 1 Corinthians 12:26 does not say we SHOULD suffer; it says we do suffer. We are members one of another.
When God brought chastening on Israel in the first deportation by Babylon, godly people went into captivity along with others. Daniel was taken captive and made one of Nebuchadnezzar’s eunuchs. What a painful experience! He was probably a teenager, and there is every indication that he was a very godly person. But the judgment on Israel as a whole affected him. In Luke 13:4 Jesus referred to an incident in which the Tower of Siloam fell on eighteen people and killed them. Then he asked, “do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” The implied answer is no. His point is that it did NOT happen to them because they were worse sinners than others. When the disciples saw a man born blind at birth, the asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They seemed to have a simplistic theology like Job’s friends: good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. But what was Jesus’s answer to the question? John 9:3: “Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’” There were times in the Bible when judgment would fall on an individual because of individual sin. It happened to Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27). It happened to King Uzziah (2Chron. 26:16-21). It happened to Herod (Acts 12:19-23). But sorrow and sickness usually comes as a result of living in a fallen world (Rom. 8:23). Our response to anyone who gets sick with the coronavirus should be one of compassion and care, believing for God to be glorified through their healing!
II. PRAYER IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR in stopping the coronavirus pandemic.
We see that in the plague that broke out in Numbers 16. That chapter records the rebellion of Korah and the judgment that fell on those people. Seeing that judgment scared the people, but it did not change their hearts. Follow with me as we read Numbers 16:41-50.
"On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the Lord." 42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting. 44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces. 46 So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun." 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. 50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped."
The incense Aaron carried represents intercession. Revelation 8:3-4 gives us that understanding. It is intercession based on the atonement. Our plea is not the goodness of man. Our plea is the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice in our behalf. Moses instructed Aaron to “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them.” It was through that intercession that the plague was stopped. Verse 48 says Aaron “stood between the dead and the living.” During this time let us stand between the dead and the living. Let us petition God not only for ourselves, but for others as well. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The safety, the salvation, is linked with repentance. Our prayer is that God would grant them repentance which is the doorway to salvation.
Notice how God takes responsibility for the plague.8 If you study plagues in the Bible you don’t find much mention of the devil. Before the plague due to David pridefully counting the people, 1 Chronicles 21:1 says, “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” Satan’s role was to tempt David toward the sin. But it was David’s sin that brought on the plague. Verse 7 says, “And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.” It’s not politically correct to say that God would judge anything. It is not politically correct to say that God would send a plague. But that is exactly what the Scripture says. God sent it, and when His conditions were met, He removed it.9 Again, repentance and intercession were the keys to resolving the problem. There is no mention here of social distancing, although that is a good, practical thing to do.
The prophet Gad told David to erect an altar (verse 18) which he did. 1 Chronicles 21:26-29 says, “And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. 27 So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.” We do not offer bulls and goats on an altar in the New Covenant. Instead we place our faith in the one all-sufficient sacrifice Jesus made at Calvary. Our intercession is based on that provision.
In this story and in Daniel 10 the veil is pulled back and we see spiritual activity behind the events going on. Our crisis is not just about viruses and financial recovery. Behind it all are spiritual forces. Satan is working and God is working. Heavenly events and earthy events are interconnected. What you and I do during this time matters!
So how should we be praying right now?
III. Daniel’s prayer in Chapter 9 provides a MODEL FOR ASKING GOD’S INTERVENTION.
This is the kind of prayer the church should be praying at this time. It positions us for receiving God’s help in time of need.
In the first two verses we see Daniel aligning himself with the will of God and the timing of God.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans — 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel understood God’s will and timing by studying the word of God (Jer. 29:4-14). Effective prayer is undergirded by a knowledge of principles and direction from Scripture. We have identified some of those principles in this message. We will address more as we review this prayer.
In verse 3 we see that Daniel made a decision—he made a determined choice to intercede. “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Notice the stance he takes. It is to humble himself—consistent with 2 Chronicles 7:14. Fasting, sackcloth, and ashes are indicative of humbling oneself (Ps. 35:13).
Then Daniel addresses the core problem: sin. God’s people had been unfaithful, and that was why their trouble came. It was a corrective measure by a loving God. Rather than allowing them to totally corrupt themselves to their own destruction, God intervened to turn them back to Himself. Daniel understands that. He is praying with understanding. He is addressing issues that matter to God. In verses 4-8 we read:
"And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day — to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. 8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
The sin that brought on the problem cannot be ignored.
In Numbers 25 we find another plague. That plague came as a result of the idolatry and sexual immorality of God’s people. Follow with me as we read the first eight verses of that chapter.
"While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them. 4 The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel." 5 So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor." 6 Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them-- through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped."
Dramatic steps had to be taken to end the sin before the plague ceased. In obedience to God Moses killed all the leaders. An Israelite man defiantly brought a Midianite woman in front of the whole assembly. Phinehas “drove the spear through both of them.” That final act against the sin ended the plague. The actions of Moses and Phinehas may offend the sensibilities of some people. But it demonstrates how decisively we must deal with sin if we want the situation turned around. Jesus said, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:30).
Daniel does not sugarcoat the sin that got Israel into trouble. He IDENTIFIES with it, confesses it, and asks for forgiveness and mercy. Daniel was a godly man, but he understood his connection with the nation of Israel. Rather than distancing himself from those sinners, he identifies with them so that he can intercede for them. Of course, that is what Jesus has done for us. But it is an example for us. Instead of praying, “they have sinned,” Daniel prays, “we have sinned.” Rather than using the third-person plural, Daniel uses the first-person plural. Daniel continues to pray that way.
He acknowledges the righteousness of God in bringing the disaster on them, but he bases his request for relief on God’s mercy and willingness to forgive. Follow as we read verses 9-12
"To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.” In verses 13-15 he talks about the goodness of God in bringing them out of Egypt. And he talks about the warning in the law of Moses about this. For the sake of time we won’t read those verse. Then he concludes his prayer in verse 16-19.
O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."
The rest of the chapter talks about Gabriel coming and confirming that God had heard the prayer.
Conclusion
So here we are today in the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic. Let us follow Daniel’s example and ask for God’s mercy. For those who know how to “pray the scriptures,” it is recommended that the Christian put himself in Daniel’s shoes and apple the prayer in Daniel 9 to the current crisis: Identifying with God’s people as a whole we confess our sin, acknowledge God’s righteousness in His judgements, confess the provision of forgiveness in Christ and God’s willingness to forgive, ask for His mercy, and ask Him to end the pandemic.
ENDNOTES:
1 Acts 2:38. All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
2 Psalm 46:1.
3 Ex. 16:35; 17:3-6; Heb. 11:3; John 2:1-11; 6:1-13; Matt. 10:29-31. Also see God’s provision for Elijah at the brook (1Kngs 17).
4 Mark 11:11-14, 20-26. Notice the importance of having the heart right in verses 25-26. People often ignore that part of the instruction. An authoritative prayer may command the virus to dry up and die (Mark 11:14).
5 See Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019) 367-380.
6 Isa. 49:8; Gal. 4:4.
7 Matt. 26:18; John 6:15; 7:6; 11:6-7, 15.
8 Some take the position that God does not send plagues or other judgments. His intention behind it is always redemptive, that men would repent and receive His mercy. It is often preferred to say God lifts His protection, rather than say God actually sends the problem. However, a close examination of the texts will bring clarity. If God’s ultimate intention were not redemptive, then such a thing would be inconsistent with His character. It is out of love that He shakes things so people will come to Him. In Him alone is life. Others say God sent plagues in the Old
Testament but does not do so under the New Covenant. That is problematic because the Bible clearly shows God sending plagues in the New Testament (Rev. 15; 18:8; 22:18). The judgment on Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5,10) came from the Lord. The judgements on Herod (Acts 12:23) and Elymas (Acts 13:11) was from the Lord. It is the same God in the Old Testament and New Testament (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8). Paul tells us the Old Testament dealings of God are recorded for our admonition (1 Cor. 10:6). In Rev. 3:14-19 Jesus calls the Laodicean Church to repentance saying, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.” God judges sin, but, in His mercy, He provides a remedy to those who will repent and submit themselves to Him. If we do not recognize these truths there is the danger that people would fail to examine themselves and repent. The extreme problem is when people do not acknowledge God as central to everything and the one to be consulted in any crisis. In Zeph. 1:12 God said, “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’” He judges sin, but in His goodness He provides forgiveness and mercy to those who repent.”
Satan does put sickness on people, and we are to minster healing to those oppressed by the devil (Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38). When people humble themselves and turn to God for help, He is faithful to minister His healing to them, and we are His instruments for doing that. In the big picture, God is wanting to reveal Himself to people. His primary object is not temporal health and wealth (even though He is the legitimate source for those things). His primary objective is people’s eternal salvation (John 3:14-16). For those who ae walking in the light, He provides protection (Ps. 91:1). Believers who are walking in obedience to God should believe God for divine health (Ex. 15:26; Deut. 7:15; Ps. 91:9-10). There is not space in this message to fully expound these issues. However, it is inadequate theology to simply say God only sends the things we want and does not send judgement. His judgments are always intended for our ultimate wellbeing (Gen. 50:20) to be experienced when we align ourselves with Him.
9 God sent the judgment of the serpents in the wilderness (Num. 21:6), however, in answer to prayer He also sent the cure (Num. 21:7-9). Looking to the brazen serpent is a type of looking in faith to Christ (John 3:14). We see the same thing in this plague in 1 Chron. 21. The judgment was from God, but the cure was from God, as well, through repentance and faith toward Him.
