"Oh LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember Your lovingkindness to Your servant David" ~ 1 Chronicles 6:42

Solomon just wraps up a huge and bold request to God.  No matter where they were and no matter how dark the situation, if they prayed toward the newly constructed temple and to the name of the LORD, that God would hear and grant the request.  This prayer was not only for the Jew, but also for the foreigner so that all would know His name.

It would have been amazing to be there when he was done praying in front of all the elders, priests, and tribal leaders.  Imagine hearing a prayer like that and understanding the fullness of what that means for your relationship with the LORD now and in the future.  God will ALWAYS hear my prayer when I pray in His Name and toward the temple.  That's huge.

And then it happened.  Just as Solomon  finished in 1 Chronicles 7:1, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house."  If you are like me, before the fire came, you may have been thinking, "Would God really answer a prayer like that?  I mean, shouldn't we allow some provision for when He doesn't answer?"  Then there is a flash of light and heat that leaves you awestruck.  God just consumed the sacrifice, signifying acceptance.  God just confirmed the prayer in the biggest way possible.  Then in verse 2, God fills the temple with His Shekinah glory signifying that not only does He accept the prayer and the worship, but the God of Heaven is present with them. I love the reaction of the people in verse 3.

"All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, 'Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.'"

I'm so encouraged by their words.  Notice they did not mention His holiness, or power, or the fear He strikes in their hearts.  He certainly is all of those.  But that is not what was foremost in their minds.  What was foremost was this word that was so important to them.  They mention His lovingkindness.  This is a steadfast love that is never thwarted and is ever faithful.  Truly He is good!  On top of the holiness, power, fear, justice, was His everlasting goodness toward them.  He had chosen them as a people to shower with blessings and goodness so that other nations would know for sure that there is a God and He is amazingly good.

What a blessed people.  They had the promise that God would hear from Heaven and answer them if they prayed toward the temple.  If only we could have lived in that day and had that kind of assurance.  But before you begin wishing that you were wearing a tunic and leading your sheep to the temple, you need to see the prophetic nature of this passage.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. ~ Revelation 21:22-23

I believe that the temple itself and this promise of the temple is prophetic of Jesus.  That when we pray in the name of Jesus, it carries with it an even greater promise.  When we pray in the name of Jesus, our loving Father in heaven will hear and answer.  Oh what a promise for those of us who long to know Him and accept Jesus as our sacrifice, King, Priest and Prophet!

I'm not saying that if we ask for a million dollars in the name of Jesus, that He must grant it.  I'm talking about His intentions for us as stated many times in Scripture, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  He wants us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and to that end God extends His surpassing greatness of power towards us who believe.  If your soul is burdened and you long to be closer to Him, pray in Jesus name knowing that there is a promise attached to it and declare in your soul, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting!"

Prayer as an expression of love

Inspired by: Prayer as a way of walking in love ~ Francis Chan (http://bit.ly/es5cBh)

I'm listening to a talk by Francis Chan on the topic of prayer as a walk in love. There is something that he just said that stuck out to me. He was painting the contrast between "busy… get a bunch of stuff done" prayer and prayer that emanates out of worship of Him. So often we get caught up in the things that we are doing "for" God. We make all these plans and have all these great ideas and we just ask God to bless them. Rather than that, Francis talks about this idea of abiding in Jesus. His words indwell us. We meditate much on Him, His goodness, His grace, His holiness, His love, His justice. When we are abiding in Jesus we are consumed with Him. I wanted to say we are in worship, but I think that term has become too ambiguous much the same way that love now can be interpreted as lust. There are times when you are in the word that you are locked in. You get it. You are excited to be there and you don't want to leave. You have just seen a part of Jesus or the Father that blows your mind. He is so good that we feel small and He feels big and you are more than ok with that.

This is the abiding that I think we strive for. When we are walking that way, daily striving to stay near to God in all that we do, God honors our prayers. In 1 Peter 4:7 it says, "The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." So what are we getting drunk on that is clouding our judgment? Is it media, friends, good times, drinking, the significant other? Gut check: How much time are you spending with Him rather than all the other distractions? I'm not saying you can't take your nose out of the book. What I am saying is that when you close the book, you don't have to close your mind to Him. Keep Him near in your conversations, in your activities, in your work. Stay "sober" for the purpose of prayer because the end of all things is near. Abide in Him and pray what He lays on your heart. If you abide, you may just get to the point that you are surprised when He doesn't answer a prayer.