2 Chronicles 20:9
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
The evils named include war, meant by the sword, together with judgment, pestilence, and famine. When such evil comes, God's people are to stand before His house where His name is, in His presence at the sanctuary dedicated to His name, and cry to Him in their affliction and distress. The promise is that God will hear and help those who so appeal to Him, and they can gather before Him and trust Him to hear them.
God's ways revealed here are merciful and tender-hearted. Jehoshaphat applied this promise when facing an invading army, confessing that Judah had no power and did not know what to do, and looking to God for deliverance. In that national danger Judah fasted and prayed together, asking God to defeat their enemies so that His name would be glorified.
The verse gives a rule God has given for His workers to follow, that they must be tender-hearted and merciful as He is. To disregard that rule and deal harshly and selfishly with brethren is to offer strange fire before the Lord. Ruling with domination violates the expectation that God's workers be tender-hearted like Him.