The goodness of God
V4,7,9 show us the goodness of God
V11 the juxtaposition of ‘all Israel’ and ‘Your law’ shows that literally no one obeyed God.
V12 a great disaster was brought upon the people because they rebelled.
God is merciful
V13-14 God is merciful. Even though God knows the future, He has ‘kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon [them]’. This means that God held the disaster back, and gave the people a chance even after they had rebelled against God, but the people ‘had not made their prayer’ (they were not going to) before God, ‘that [they] might turn from [their] iniquities and understand [God’s] truth’. Since ‘the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though [they had] not obeyed His voice’, God brought the disaster upon them because He is righteous.
Pray for one another
V20-21 repetition of ‘while i was speaking’
V23 ‘At the beginning of your supplications the command went out’. This reminds me of a sermon I heard, where the preacher was saying that if we have the need, we should ask those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22) to pray for us.
"Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV
The sermon speaker also mentioned that we may not be praying at the same time. Still, it is quite marvellous because someone has asked us to pray for them, and in those moments God has helped them open up a way. God is pleased with us asking (a group of) people to pray for us. The preacher said that he could also see that happening (God helping them open up a way) when people asked him to pray for them, even if he may not always remember to pray for them.