In this very well-known and often quoted Scripture,  we like to gloss over the first part and instead focus on the end…the promised things God will do for us.  But in doing so, we miss two small but very important words contained in this verse.  The first, is how this Scripture starts, “If My people…” “If”  puts the burden and responsibility squarely on our shoulders to follow through with the conditions God has placed here…namely, for us to have a radical change of heart, mind, and spirit.  It is only at that time and after that is completed, (marked by the second important word, “then”) that God will forgive and heal the land.  You could call these prerequisites…things God requires of us beforehand…not because He’s a mean tyrant, but because He’s a good and just God.