Humility, Prayer, & Justice for All: A Reflection on 2 Chronicles 7:14

Today I'm holding 2 Chronicles 7:14 close alongside the concept of imago dei. The text says, "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."This moment that we're in requires that we assume a posture of radical humility before we even think to pray or set intentions. There has to be an acknowledgment and confession of the ways in which we are complicit in upholding ideologies and systems that subjugate, demoralize, disrespect, marginalize, and otherwise strip dignity away from members of our human family. It is only then that we can pray with a heart that in any way reflects that of the Divine.My understandings of justice let me know that I cannot seek God without seeing the divine representation manifest in humanity, especially those pushed to the margins by those with privilege. For God is evident in the personhood of my undocumented family, in my trans siblings, in my neurodivergent loves, in black and brown folx, in women, and in the those fighting for a living wage.Seeking the necessity of their faces is holy and fighting for greater inclusion of their voices is to pivot from the evil of contributing to their erasure.You want healing to flow in our land? Do your work, address your biases then interrogate your privilege. Don't sit around and wait for God to fix things, do your part and show up so you can be a divine response to the inequity and iniquity that need to get checked in our nation.