Readings for today: 1 Kings 8-10, Psalms 96
The prayer of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple is one of my favorites. It’s serves as a great model for us as we think about our own prayer life or prayers during times of great cultural upheaval like the one we’re currently living in. It begins with an ascription of praise for who God is and a recognition that He is utterly transcendent.
“Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below, who keeps the gracious covenant with your servants who walk before you with all their heart.” (1 Kings 8:23 CSB) Solomon acknowledges the greatness of God. His majesty. His glory. His splendor. He is not just one among many gods. He alone is the true God of the heavens and the earth. He is also a God defined by faithfulness. Eternal loyalty. Steadfast love for His covenant people who are the humble recipients of His blessing. This attitude is truly the starting point of prayer. Prayer must begin with an understanding of who God is and who we are. We are not the same. We are not on the same level. God is the shepherd and we are the sheep. God is the potter and we are the clay. God is the king and we are his servants. Prayer places us in a humble position before the Lord. This is the only posture one can take when we come before God in prayer.
“But will God indeed live on earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built. Listen to your servant’s prayer and his petition, Lord my God, so that you may hear the cry and the prayer that your servant prays before you today.” (1 Kings 8:27-28 CSB) As we come humbly before the Lord, we are assured of His promise to hear us. To listen. To attend to our prayers. God hears every word. Every cry. He sees every tear. He knows the secret thoughts of our hearts and He delights when we bring those before Him openly and honestly. Solomon makes it clear that the Temple’s primary purpose is to serve as a house for prayer. A place where Israel can come before God and lay their requests before Him.
God not only listens to our requests, He also hears our confession. Throughout this prayer, Solomon acknowledges the inescapable reality of sin. It is ubiquitous. It is epidemic. It is simply part of who we are as God’s people. So when a man or woman sins. When God’s people sin collectively. Whether against neighbor or friend. Through systems of oppression or abuse. When Israel suffers defeat at the hands of their enemies or the rains are shut up in the heavens or famine strikes the land. When viral pandemics rage, economies fail, racial tensions rise, and shelter-in-place orders are laid down. In those moments, if we will humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face, God promises to “hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know...” (1 Kings 8:39 CSB)
God will do all these things in such a way as to make His name great upon the earth. Even in Solomon’s prayer, there is a missional, outward-facing component. "Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name — for they will hear of your great name, strong hand, and outstretched arm, and will come and pray toward this temple — may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all the foreigner asks. Then all peoples of earth will know your name, to fear you as your people Israel do and to know that this temple I have built bears your name.” (1 Kings 8:41-43 CSB) God desires to fill the earth with His glory. Israel is called to serve this very purpose. In the way Israel orders her life and faithfully serves her Lord, she will be a witness to the nations and to all of creation of the steadfast love of God.
You can see why I love this prayer so much! As I said above, it is a great model for us to follow in our own lives as we ponder and reflect on the challenges we face individually and collectively. Passages like this invite us to bring our requests before the Lord and trust Him with the results. Because of Christ, Christians have access to the Father in ways Solomon, in all his wisdom, could never have imagined! Because Christ sits at the Father’s right hand interceding for us continually, the door is always open. The way to the Holy of Holies always clear. We have a standing invitation to come before our Heavenly Father with the blessed assurance He will always listen. When you pray for yourself or the world in which we live, pray with this eternal promise firmly fixed in your mind and heart.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 11-13, Psalms 97