A prayer to God regarding this COVID-19 virus

1st Kings 8:10-61
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of YHWH, 11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of YHWH had filled the house of YHWH. 12 ¶ Then spake Solomon, YHWH said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. 14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 15 And he said, Blessed be YHWH God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of YHWH God of Israel. 18 And YHWH said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. 20 And YHWH hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as YHWH promised, and have built an house for the name of YHWH God of Israel. 21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of YHWH, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 22 ¶ And Solomon stood before the altar of YHWH in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23 And he said, YHWH God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore now, YHWH God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. 26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. 27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O YHWH my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: 29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. 31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: 32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. 33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: 34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. 35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; 42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. 44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto YHWH toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: 45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: 49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: 51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: 52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. 53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. 54 ¶ And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto YHWH, he arose from before the altar of YHWH, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 Blessed be YHWH, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 57 YHWH our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: 58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. 59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before YHWH, be nigh unto YHWH our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: 60 That all the people of the earth may know that YHWH is God, and that there is none else. 61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with YHWH our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

You have just read the prayer of King Solomon, who made a mighty prayer to YHWH at a time when Israel was unified and had just finished bringing in the Ark of the Covenant to the House of God or the Temple Solomon built for Almighty YHWH to dwell in at Jerusalem.

What a magnificent prayer to God king Solomon prayed to God for the children of Israel!

What a magnificent prayer that we can learn from!

Did you notice the part of the prayer to God regarding the very same afflictions we face today with this COVID-19 Coronavirus and worldwide pestilence?

Read this part closely again.

1st Kings 8:35-40
When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

Notice Solomon prayed “What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house.”

Solomon’s prayer said “any man” with a prayer and supplication or a petition could be made to God.

Did YHWH hear Solomon’s fervent and righteous prayer?

We find that He did! But notice what YHWH says to Solomon.

1st Kings 9:1-9
¶ And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of YHWH, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2 That YHWH appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3 And YHWH said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath YHWH done thus unto this land, and to this house? 9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook YHWH their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath YHWH brought upon them all this evil.

Truly YHWH heard the Prayer of Solomon. We also know that King Solomon although he was the wisest of all men, he was far from perfect before God and he broke YHWH's commandments and thus the kingdom of Israel was rent from him.

Oh that God’s people had only obeyed God instead of following their own ways and making decisions or choices that in turn violated God’s Laws.

In the case of Solomon, he had many wives who were of the other peoples of the lands, not of Israel, and strangers who made Solomon take up their worship of their idols or gods.

This is not unlike the world today, which ignores largely their own Creator, Almighty God, in place of the idol of their hearts –like entertainment, television, or movies, technology like computers and cellphones. All these things and other preoccupations of man have taken away the focus of man from his Creator, his God, and billions of men and women and children have no idea who their creator is today.

As Christians, we believe God has all things under His control. This means for whatever reason, and I can think of a few, YHWH has allowed a disastrous pestilence to fall upon the people of the earth and thousands have died.

The people of this earth have sinned against God and because of this, we are now living under the curses of sin, whether it be war, pestilence, floods, famines, earthquakes any afflictions that man has to deal with and cope as best he can.

I’m not saying all of these are the result of sin solely, or that God does all these acts on man as a result.

NO! You need to understand that God has a bigger plan of action. These are just facts of life for man. But at times God can use war, pestilence, plagues, famines, and other afflictions for his larger purpose in his larger plan for man the earth and the heavens.

Above all, God seeks righteousness! God is a Holy God. God therefore seeks man to be righteous, so that he can commune with man and live among man and bring good things for man. God is seeking a healthy, holy, relationship with man. Man, by and large, has ignored God.

Well now man should have God’s attention, if he does not already.

I didn’t write this article to speak about that fact. I wrote this article to try and bring us closer to God now in the hope he will hear our prayers.

YHWH, almighty God, said to this people Israel:

2nd Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

These words apply to God’s people, but they can be beneficial to others as well if one was to perform the four things God requires of this people.

You see, there are four things God requires of man today.

1 Humble themselves before God

2 Pray to God

3 Actively Seek God

4 Turn from our wicked ways, or in other words, the act of repentance.

Only then, will God hear man and forgive their sins and bring healing.

The first thing a person should do, is turn off the things of this world and put them away for a moment and focus on God by humbling him or herself. You might start by being respectful to God and get down on your knees, and raise your hands, and call out to God. This shows God you are being submissive and you've lowered yourself in humility before God.

The next thing you can do, is begin to talk directly to God--this is prayer

The next thing you can do, is grab your Holy Bible and make some time for God actively seeking the Word of God—communing with God.

Lastly, you should repent of your sins to God and actively begin to turn away from that behavior that is sinful in God’s eyes. Stop whatever is causing you to sin, if there be any actions you have or are doing before God that are unrighteous.

This is a start. If one does this, they can expect to see some change in their life and living condition.

But I did not write this article to talk about that either.

I wrote this article to pray a prayer to Almighty God.

I don’t really know what I shall say, nor do I expect it to be as great as Solomon’s prayer to YHWH, but here it goes.

O God of the Highest, God of wonders, Almighty YHWH of Hosts, please hear my prayer, for you are a righteous God and a God of everlasting mercies, a God who can do wondrous things for those who love him. You are a God of hope, and of safety, and a God of salvation. In you alone I trust my soul. You created all there is to see and deserve all our thanks and worship all the days of our lives.

We have sinned O God; we have not recognized your wonders and your amazing creations and we fall far, far, short of daily worship of you O God. Instead, we have chosen to allow the things of this world to cloud our minds to bring us to confusion, making idols of our hearts the things of this life which are of little importance compared to you and your wonders and amazing love you have for us despite our low sinful being.

O Lord we are ashamed of ourselves and ashamed of our doings. Forgive us our sins this day as we recognize we are indeed sinners before you. We need you Lord in this time, this time of affliction when all the earth is full of pain and woe from this grave pestilence.

Let the will of the Lord be done, for only you alone know what your will is regarding this plague the earth now finds itself under at this time.

I ask that you would send comfort to those in pain and healing to those who you will have mercy upon.

I ask that you would bring many millions, if not billions, of the world’s people to turn to you to know you the one true living God.

I ask that you would be a protection for those who are giving themselves for the care of others unselfishly and show them mercy according to your will.

I pray for the poor, the fatherless and widows and the strangers, the most vulnerable at this time; bless them Lord protect and help them Lord according to your will. Bring them to you O God that they might trust in your salvation.

I pray for the leaders of the world, that they might have wisdom to know how to handle the crisis at this time.

I pray that you would help men to love one another and to love you as you have commanded man to do.

While we all pray for our families, friends, and others for healing, protection, and mercy, let the will of the Lord be done.

Lastly I pray that if it is your will, you would shorten the life span of this virus, for you are most merciful God. If it is thy will, then let man find a cure or a space of healing from this virus.

I ask all these things in the name of Jesus the Christ, my Lord and my Savior.

O Lord I thank you for hearing my prayers and hearing all the prayers of your people.

Thank you for your amazing love, for giving your only Son as a sacrifice for us and for giving us your Spirit to guide us and be with us all the days of our lives.

I thank you for being there for us and for listening to our petitions, supplications, and prayers.

You are a wonderful God of wonders, a holy God, and God of everlasting Mercy!

Thank you YHWH, Thank you Jesus!

Praises forever be to thy holy wonderful name. Amen

Won’t you take a moment now, and make your own prayer and supplication to God?

I believe if you take time to pray to God and many others do the same, together we can send a powerful message to God that He might not only hear our prayers, but acquiesce to our petitions. Realize, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.