DOES GOD SPEAK TO NATIONS?

DOES GOD SPEAK TO NATIONS?

That question sounds like a debate for theologians, but in truth it is not. Both the Bible and the Quran testify that God does speak to nations. What is really at stake is not whether God speaks, but whether nations listen—and what happens if they don’t.

We easily accept that God speaks to individuals. But when we speak of nations, it becomes a collective responsibility. In the Bible, Israel as a people was called to obedience, and entire kingdoms like Egypt or Babylon were addressed through prophets. In the Quran, God sent messengers to whole communities. Many indigenous traditions, too, believe that ancestral spirits and the divine guide tribes through nature, dreams, and rituals.

So if God indeed speaks to nations, what might He be saying to us in the Philippines?

Prophetic Voices Through History

If we look back, God’s voice often comes through moral leaders rather than thunder from the heavens. Gandhi in India, Martin Luther King Jr. in America, and even José Rizal in our own history served as prophetic voices—reminding nations of justice, dignity, and truth. They did not claim to be prophets in the biblical sense, but their call carried a spiritual urgency.

Could it be that God speaks to nations not just in holy texts, but also through such figures, through crises, or even through the groaning of creation?

Messages in Crisis

Wars, plagues, and environmental disasters have often been interpreted as wake-up calls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many religious leaders worldwide reflected on whether this was a message for nations to slow down, reset priorities, and confront inequality. In our case, perhaps the repeated floods, landslides, and food insecurity are warnings about our abuse of the environment and neglect of rural communities.

The Biblical Framework

A verse often quoted in times of crisis is 2 Chronicles 7:14:
 “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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Notice the systemic pattern here: humility, prayer, seeking, repentance, then healing. This is not just about personal piety—it is a national feedback loop. If corruption is replaced with honesty, if greed gives way to stewardship, if violence bows to peace, the entire ecosystem of the nation benefits.

A Filipino Application

What might “national repentance” look like in our context?

  • On corruption: Imagine if we truly turned away from this as a people. Would not our resources multiply for education, health, and infrastructure?

  • On the environment: If we repented from decades of logging, mining, and pollution, could our rivers and forests heal—and in turn, sustain our food security?

  • On governance: If our leaders humbled themselves before the people and sought justice rather than power, could we begin to see a more equitable society?

I dare say these are not just political reforms but moral ones. If God speaks to nations, then He speaks through these urgencies.

The Call for Collective Listening

The bigger challenge is listening. As individuals we may pray, but do we as a nation pause to reflect? Our national discourse is often drowned in noise—political bickering, celebrity scandals, or the next trending issue on social media. Yet perhaps God’s voice is in the quiet insistence of conscience, the cry of the poor, the lament of the environment, or the wisdom of our ancestors.

If so, then we need more than religious revivals—we need a reawakening of civic conscience. Repentance is not only about morality; it is also about governance, economics, and culture.

My Suggestion

Perhaps we should begin at the barangay level. Let communities practice humility in governance, stewardship of land and water, and dignity in livelihood. If transformation happens locally, it can ripple upward.

And yes, perhaps it is time to ask ourselves collectively: are we listening to God as a nation? Or have we closed our ears, waiting until disaster forces us to pay attention?

History shows that nations that ignore moral decay eventually collapse, whether they were ancient kingdoms or modern states. But those that repent, reform, and listen often find renewal.

So the question is not whether God speaks to nations. He does. The real question is—are we listening, Philippines?

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres

iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com 

01-11-2026

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