Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

6 Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. ² Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

³ Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: ⁴ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ⁵ ‘From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my people Israel. ⁶ But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸ But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, ⁹ but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

¹⁰ “And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹ There I have placed the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with the people of Israel.”

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. ¹³ Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1⁄2 feet long, 7 1⁄2 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet high and had placed it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴ He prayed,

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. ¹⁵ You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.

¹⁶ “And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ ¹⁷ Now, O Lord, God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David.

¹⁸ “But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! ¹⁹ Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you. ²⁰ May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. ²¹ May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

²² “If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar at this Temple, ²³ then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Pay back the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

²⁴ “If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, ²⁵ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave to them and to their ancestors.

²⁶ “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, ²⁷ then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

²⁸ “If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— ²⁹ and if your people Israel pray about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, ³⁰ then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. ³¹ Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.

³² “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands when they hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, ³³ then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.

³⁴ “If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to you by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, ³⁵ then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.

³⁶ “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near. ³⁷ But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ ³⁸ If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their captivity and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— ³⁹ then hear their prayers and their petitions from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

⁴⁰ “O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.

⁴¹ “And now arise, O Lord God, and enter your resting place,
    along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
May your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation;
    may your loyal servants rejoice in your goodness.
⁴² O Lord God, do not reject the king you have anointed.
    Remember your unfailing love for your servant David.”

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. ² The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. ³ When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever!”

⁴ Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. ⁶ The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.

⁷ Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.

⁸ For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. ⁹ On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. ¹⁰ Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.

¹¹ So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. ¹² Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. ¹³ At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. ¹⁴ Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. ¹⁵ My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. ¹⁶ For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

¹⁷ “As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, ¹⁸ then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, ²⁰ then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. ²¹ And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

²² “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.’”

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

[TBR-165: II Chronicles 6-7]

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding II Chronicles 6-7: 

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?    

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

II Chronicles 6

1. God wants people to ask Him to keep His eyes are open and His ears attentive to their prayers just as Solomon did. 

2. People are to be honest and admit to God, “We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly. Help us to turn back to You with our whole heart and soul. Please forgive Your people who have sinned.” 

II Chronicles 7

1. God responds to the respectful cries of His repentant people.

2. God promises, “If My people [God’s chosen people–the Jews], who are called by My name [Christ-ians], will humble themselves and pray and seek My face [get close to Him] and turn from their wicked ways [anything that is against or independent of Him], I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and restore [heal] their land [the soil, the people, and the soul of the nation].”  

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding II Chronicles 6-7?  

Dear God and Father in Heaven, I humbly ask You to keep Your eyes open and Your ears attentive to the prayers of Your repentant people. You have promised in II Chronicles 7:14, “If My people [Your chosen people–the Jews], [and those] who are called by My name [Christ-ians], will humble themselves and pray and seek My face [get close to You] and turn from their wicked ways [anything that is against or independent of You, LORD], I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and restore [heal] their land [the soil, the people, and the soul of the nation].” On behalf of myself and my nation, I humbly and honestly admit to You, LORD God, “We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly. Help us to turn back to You with our whole heart and soul. Please forgive Your people who have sinned.”  May we each individually and collectively name these specific sins and seek Your direction in correcting these grave affronts to You and Your holiness. LORD God, may my own heart and my nation return to being places where Your name will be honored forever. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to II Chronicles 6-7? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will examine my own life to see where I am saying or doing anything that is against or independent of God.
• I will confess the above to the LORD and at least one other person where appropriate.
• I will ask for the power of the Holy Spirit and take His directed action to change my misbehavior.
• I will encourage others to do the step above. 

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.