(1 Kings 8:31-66) “If a person sins against his neighbor and is compelled to take an oath of innocence, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and acquitting the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your favor in this house, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.
35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
37 “If there is a famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy harasses them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer or plea is offered by any person or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; 39 then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, whose heart You know—for You alone know the hearts of all mankind— 40 so that they will fear You all the days that they live on the land which You have given to our fathers.
41 “Also regarding the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your name 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.
44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their cause.
46 “When they sin against You (for there is no person who does not sin) and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, distant or near; 47 if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; 49 then hear their prayer and their pleading in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their wrongdoings which they have committed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, so that they will have compassion on them 51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace), 52 so that Your eyes may be open to the pleading of Your servant and to the pleading of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You have singled them out from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, just as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord God.”
54 When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and plea to the Lord, he stood up from the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
56 “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel in accordance with everything that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. 57 May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 so that He may guide our hearts toward Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, with which I have implored the favor of the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, so that He will maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else. 61 Your hearts therefore shall be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. 64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, because there he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, that is, fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David His servant, and to Israel His people.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
For prayers to the Lord to be most effective, people must be without sin. This is only possible by repenting and confessing our sins to the Lord, the One who paid the price for all sin and had victory over death. So when a person goes to the Lord with humble and sincere hearts, He does hear and He does forgive and He does answer prayers. (He answers either with "yes", "not yet, because it is not the right time", or "no, but there's something better I have in mind for you".)
Meanwhile, many people pray, but they do not pray to the Lord. Self-righteousness means that one believes they are right in their own eyes, in their own ways. So people make the mistake of trying to create God in their own image, instead of seeking to be reborn into God's image and then continue seeking to be more and more like Him. It is so easy for us to think that we don't deserve something, when we actually do.
Notice that when Solomon prayed for the people and the ones he loved, he did not ask that God remove the consequences of their sins FIRST, he first wanted people to seek out the Lord. Just so, as we pray for people and our loved ones who are struggling through something because they are not following the Lord - who are we to ask Him to remove those struggles?! These might very well be the things that help them see their need for the Lord! Or these things are needed to help a believer get back to following after the Lord.
We should know that we cannot lose our salvation no matter what we do or not do. But when we sin, God will allow consequences into our lives. Sin will impede our prayers. And sin will get in our own way of fully experiencing God's peace, joy and contentment in all things. Regarding criminal acts, we should report these to the proper authorities, then pray for their wisdom, as well as God's guidance in this.
Also notice that Solomon is not prejudiced or racist. He desired - because this is what God desires - that all people come to know the Lord, and that we welcome anyone into our churches to worship with us in God's Spirit and unity. We should be excited when anyone comes to our church to be part of our spiritual family! And we are to bless and encourage one another in God's unconditional love.
While unconditional love does not include "unconditional approval", we should never assume that someone has sinned or is living in sin just because they are suffering through something. Sometimes we suffer consequences because of other people's sins. This is why Solomon prayed that God would place consequences on the people who committed the sin/s. Some people claim innocence when they are not, while some will take the blame for things they haven't done. We don't know their hearts, but God does, so we should allow God to sort out these things with fairness and justice.
Also very important to know, God will allow tests and trials to come our way, not just as consequences, but for other reasons, such as to help us see Him work miracles in our lives, and to help our faith and trust in Him grow, and to help us be a testimony to others.
As believers, we are to be a living testimony to the world, by faithfully and obediently pursuing God, through good times and struggles. And whenever we sin, we should continue to faithfully and obediently return to the Lord so that we can continue rejoicing in His grace and goodness. Through this, the world will notice!
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