June 2-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:12-17, Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today. 16 “Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.
Observe what it is saying.
The king’s movement from standing on the platform before all the people with his hands outstretched to kneeling down is a powerful image of humility before God. He gave public acknowledgment to the fact that he was only God's servant, leading a kingdom that was not his own. Solomon expressed praise in recognition there is no other god like the God of Israel. God is faithful to His loving covenant with those who stay wholehearted in their devotion with Him. Solomon reminds God of the promise of having a successor king from the line of David and asks that it will happen just as He said it would.
Relate it to your life
God’s promises can be trusted and used as a foundation for prayer.
Do something.
Father, may I discover and discern Your universal promises and bring them to You in prayer. Amen.
June 3-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:18-23, “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive. 22 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon has an accurate understanding of the greatness of God as He admits that if the heavens cannot contain God then the temple is ridiculously far from being able to hold Him. However, Solomon does ask that God will hear when they pray toward the temple. He specifically requests that God will answer with forgiveness when sin is confessed and will bring appropriate justice to both parties involved.
Relate it to your life.
Our view of God’s majesty impacts what we believe God can and will do through prayer.
Do something.
Father, help me to see You for who You really are. Forgive me for making You too small. Amen.
June 4-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:24-27, “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors. 26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
Observe what it is saying.
With God’s wisdom and insight, Solomon plays through several scenarios in prayer of what will happen in the future. There is a particular pattern that is given. A sin is committed by the nation. Judgment comes through defeat or lack of rain. The people turn back to God. They give praise to His name. They ask for forgiveness. God hears and forgives their sin. God teaches them once again the right way to live, removes the affliction, and blesses them again. Solomon understands human nature. He knows their propensity to sin, his own propensity to sin, and asks God ahead of time to be gracious to them.
Relate it to your life.
We can pray ahead for future generations in anticipation of what they might need from God.
Do something.
Father, I pray that my children, grandchildren, and future generations will be faithful to You. Amen.
June 5-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:28-33, “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart), 31 so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors. 32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon continues to imagine future scenarios of problems and pain where people turn to God and pray. Solomon asks God ahead of time to answer their humble heartfelt prayers. Interestingly, he envisions various disasters and diseases, and then says if anyone prays on the behalf of the nation, hear them, forgive them, and deal with them with the ultimate goal that they will fear the Lord and be obedient to Him. The thing that stands out is that he identifies that if anyone, one person, prays on behalf of the nation that God will hear. Our prayers matter! He also shows his evangelistic heart for the foreigner who lives among them that God will hear their prayers so that all peoples on earth will know and fear the Lord.
Relate it to your life.
Do I believe that my prayers on behalf of my family, my church, my community, my nation will be heard?
Do something.
Father, give me faith to pray bold prayers so that Your name will be held high and praised. Amen.
June 6-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:34-39, “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 36 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
Observe what it is saying.
In Solomon’s consecration prayer of the temple, he now envisions when the nation will go into exile. Everything he prayed would happen. The people would sin, fail to repent, be taken over by their enemy and led into a foreign land. While there, they would admit the error of their ways, repent, and turn their whole hearts back to God. Solomon asks that when this happens God would hear their prayer, forgive them, and return them home. Solomon continues to send his prayers into the future. We also find his understanding of God’s vast greatness as he contrasts building the temple for God’s Name with heaven, the true dwelling place of God. The temple was a place to focus their attention for prayer and worship. Places play an important role in our discipleship as a physical reminder of God’s rule in heaven.
Relate it to your life.
Church buildings play a similar role in directing our prayers and worship to God enthroned in heaven.
Do something.
Father, I know I can pray and worship anywhere, but there’s something special about doing so with other believers in a church building. Keep me faithful to gathering with the body. Amen.
June 7-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:40-42, “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness. 42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon finished his prayer asking the Lord to see and hear the prayers that would be offered from the temple. Solomon borrowed from Psalm 132:8-10 which is a royal psalm that may’ve been written by David or one of his associates for a similar occasion 40 years before when the ark was first installed in Jerusalem in its tent. Solomon added the request for God to "remember the great love" promised to David. Throughout this prayer, Solomon has called upon God to remember His covenant of answering prayers from the temple and honoring the promise given to his father David, about having him and future lineage on the throne. Once again Solomon models that prayer should be filled with the promises of God.
Relate it to your life.
The more I pray God’s word the more confident I will be that my prayers will be heard and answered.
Do something.
Father, I ask You will meet all my needs according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:12-17, Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today. 16 “Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.
Observe what it is saying.
The king’s movement from standing on the platform before all the people with his hands outstretched to kneeling down is a powerful image of humility before God. He gave public acknowledgment to the fact that he was only God's servant, leading a kingdom that was not his own. Solomon expressed praise in recognition there is no other god like the God of Israel. God is faithful to His loving covenant with those who stay wholehearted in their devotion with Him. Solomon reminds God of the promise of having a successor king from the line of David and asks that it will happen just as He said it would.
Relate it to your life
God’s promises can be trusted and used as a foundation for prayer.
Do something.
Father, may I discover and discern Your universal promises and bring them to You in prayer. Amen.
June 3-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:18-23, “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive. 22 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon has an accurate understanding of the greatness of God as He admits that if the heavens cannot contain God then the temple is ridiculously far from being able to hold Him. However, Solomon does ask that God will hear when they pray toward the temple. He specifically requests that God will answer with forgiveness when sin is confessed and will bring appropriate justice to both parties involved.
Relate it to your life.
Our view of God’s majesty impacts what we believe God can and will do through prayer.
Do something.
Father, help me to see You for who You really are. Forgive me for making You too small. Amen.
June 4-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:24-27, “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors. 26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
Observe what it is saying.
With God’s wisdom and insight, Solomon plays through several scenarios in prayer of what will happen in the future. There is a particular pattern that is given. A sin is committed by the nation. Judgment comes through defeat or lack of rain. The people turn back to God. They give praise to His name. They ask for forgiveness. God hears and forgives their sin. God teaches them once again the right way to live, removes the affliction, and blesses them again. Solomon understands human nature. He knows their propensity to sin, his own propensity to sin, and asks God ahead of time to be gracious to them.
Relate it to your life.
We can pray ahead for future generations in anticipation of what they might need from God.
Do something.
Father, I pray that my children, grandchildren, and future generations will be faithful to You. Amen.
June 5-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:28-33, “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart), 31 so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors. 32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon continues to imagine future scenarios of problems and pain where people turn to God and pray. Solomon asks God ahead of time to answer their humble heartfelt prayers. Interestingly, he envisions various disasters and diseases, and then says if anyone prays on the behalf of the nation, hear them, forgive them, and deal with them with the ultimate goal that they will fear the Lord and be obedient to Him. The thing that stands out is that he identifies that if anyone, one person, prays on behalf of the nation that God will hear. Our prayers matter! He also shows his evangelistic heart for the foreigner who lives among them that God will hear their prayers so that all peoples on earth will know and fear the Lord.
Relate it to your life.
Do I believe that my prayers on behalf of my family, my church, my community, my nation will be heard?
Do something.
Father, give me faith to pray bold prayers so that Your name will be held high and praised. Amen.
June 6-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:34-39, “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 36 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
Observe what it is saying.
In Solomon’s consecration prayer of the temple, he now envisions when the nation will go into exile. Everything he prayed would happen. The people would sin, fail to repent, be taken over by their enemy and led into a foreign land. While there, they would admit the error of their ways, repent, and turn their whole hearts back to God. Solomon asks that when this happens God would hear their prayer, forgive them, and return them home. Solomon continues to send his prayers into the future. We also find his understanding of God’s vast greatness as he contrasts building the temple for God’s Name with heaven, the true dwelling place of God. The temple was a place to focus their attention for prayer and worship. Places play an important role in our discipleship as a physical reminder of God’s rule in heaven.
Relate it to your life.
Church buildings play a similar role in directing our prayers and worship to God enthroned in heaven.
Do something.
Father, I know I can pray and worship anywhere, but there’s something special about doing so with other believers in a church building. Keep me faithful to gathering with the body. Amen.
June 7-Solomon’s Story
Write out the Scripture.
2 Chronicles 6:40-42, “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness. 42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon finished his prayer asking the Lord to see and hear the prayers that would be offered from the temple. Solomon borrowed from Psalm 132:8-10 which is a royal psalm that may’ve been written by David or one of his associates for a similar occasion 40 years before when the ark was first installed in Jerusalem in its tent. Solomon added the request for God to "remember the great love" promised to David. Throughout this prayer, Solomon has called upon God to remember His covenant of answering prayers from the temple and honoring the promise given to his father David, about having him and future lineage on the throne. Once again Solomon models that prayer should be filled with the promises of God.
Relate it to your life.
The more I pray God’s word the more confident I will be that my prayers will be heard and answered.
Do something.
Father, I ask You will meet all my needs according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)
Posted in Daily Devotionals