1/4/2011 8:33:39 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
Bible Reading
& Meditation
Focus: A House of
Prayer
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference:
1Kings 8:22-30; 2Chron. 6:12-21
Message of the verses: “22 ¶
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all
the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 23 He said, "O LORD, the God of Israel,
there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant
and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their
heart, 24 who have kept with Your
servant, my father David, that which You have promised him; indeed, You have
spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand as it is this day.
25 "Now therefore, O LORD, the God
of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have promised
him, saying, ’You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons take heed to their way to walk before Me as you have walked.’ 26 "Now therefore, O God of Israel, let
Your word, I pray, be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant, my
father David. 27 "But will God indeed
dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You,
how much less this house which I have built! 28
"Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his
supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your
servant prays before You today; 29 that
Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of
which You have said, ’My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which
Your servant shall pray toward this place. 30
"Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people
Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place;
hear and forgive.”
“12
¶ Then he stood before the altar of the
LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.
13 Now Solomon had made a bronze
platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had set
it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt on his knees in the
presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
14 He said, "O LORD, the God of
Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and
showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their
heart; 15 who has kept with Your servant
David, my father, that which You have promised him; indeed You have spoken with
Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 "Now therefore, O LORD, the God of
Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised
him, saying, ’You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons take heed to their way, to walk in My law as you have walked before
Me.’ 17 "Now therefore, O LORD, the
God of Israel, let Your word be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant
David. 18 "But will God indeed
dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot
contain You; how much less this house which I have built. 19 "Yet have regard to the prayer of Your
servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the
prayer which Your servant prays before You; 20
that Your eye may be open toward this house day and night, toward the
place of which You have said that You would put Your name there, to listen to
the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.”
Today’s
SD begins the third main point in this fourth chapter of “Be Responsible” which
is Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Kings and also parts of 2Chronicles. In this section he has done things a bit
different than he normally does. The
introduction to this section covers the verses that are written above and then
as one follows the remaining portion of Scripture in this section it can be
seen that Solomon makes seven specific requests to the Lord and so those will
be discussed at a later date. Today I
will try and do justice to the verses above.
In
the section in 2Chronicles 6 the author describes the bronze platform that
Solomon is kneeling on with his hands lifted up and facing the temple. The Apostle Paul makes mention of this
position when writing to Timothy in 1Tim. 2:8, “Therefore I want the men in
every place to pray, lifting
up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.” This must have been a way that the early
Church prayed, which is similar to what Solomon is praying. Solomon goes on to ask the Lord that if one
prays towards this temple that God would answer their pray as long as their
hearts are clean. This was not some kind
of magic ritual, for one must have a clean heart to approach the God of Heaven
and earth. Daniel practiced this way of
praying as described in his writings as he prayed three times a day with his
window open towards Jerusalem. I believe
it is in Daniel chapter six that this can be seen.
Solomon
was humble in his prayer for he knew that the temple that he built could not
contain the Lord as Isaiah also knew: “Thus
says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where
then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? (Isa. 66:1)
Solomon
again brought the covenant that God had made with His servant, Solomon’s father
David and this again was humbling to him for neither David nor Solomon, nor any
of the rest of their descendants could ever earn this, but it came through the
grace and plan of God in order to bring the Messiah, Jesus Christ to the earth.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I seen in this section the need of humility
to be a greater part of my life for nothing that I have ever came through my
own effort, but was in the sovereign plan of the Lord, and He is the One who
controls all things in my life, and therefore all things in my life should
bring glory to the Lord.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Continue to trust the Lord to guide my steps, and to
give me the grace I need each day to do the things that the Lord desires me to
accomplish for His glory.
2.
Trust the Lord to give me the grace for the long day
of travel tomorrow.
1/4/2011 12:33:00 PM
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