Praying and Fasting for the Healing of a Nation

Joel 2:12-17

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; 13 And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and relenting of catastrophe. 14 Who knows, He might turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God. 15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Have the groom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber. 17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, With the nations jeering at them. Why should those among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

Exodus 32:11-14

11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Jonah 3:5-10

5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the dust. 7 And he issued a proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water. 8 But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to call on God vehemently, and they are to turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.” 10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, then God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would bring on them. So He did not do it.

Isaiah 55:6-7

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked abandon his way, And the unrighteous person his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord,
and He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

Exodus 19:9-13

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. 10 The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and have them wash their garments; 11 and have them ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Exodus 20:1-4a

Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol

Exodus 32:1-4

32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, “This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 32:21

Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”

Exodus 32:7-8a

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them.”