WHERE SHOULD WE LIFT UP OUR PRAYERS?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest Heaven, cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!”

“Yet give attention to Your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying in Your presence this day. May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' so that You will hear the prayer Your servant prays toward this place.”

“Hear the supplication 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.”

1 Kings 8:27-30

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After the construction of God’s temple had been completed in Jerusalem, we saw in yesterday’s message how Solomon, Israel’s king, began dedicating it at the altar, coming before the assembled Israelites. There, we read where he lifted up his hands to the Lord and proclaimed that there was no god like the one true God of Israel…the Maker of Heaven and earth…the Lord who maintained a covenant love with His people as He perfectly fulfilled every promise He made.

As we continue our study of the dedication today, we see Solomon further praise and honor His God, the Lord of all lords who had no equal. Look again at these words from our passage:

“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest Heaven, cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!”

Here, we find Israel’s king acknowledging that the power and presence of his God (our God) couldn’t be harnessed or contained. It was true then and it remains true now. Indeed, the God of Heaven and earth knows no boundaries, certainly unable to be held within the walls of any man-made structure. The scriptures affirm this, reminding its readers that “even the highest heaven” could not hold the Lord in place let alone any place a person might build…even the temple constructed by Solomon and his people.

So what does this establish about the God we serve?

Well, we learn that He is omnipresent or put another way, He is everywhere.

Friends, this is a critical truth to remember as we look into the remainder of Solomon’s words in today’s passage regarding prayer…prayers that are lifted up to a God who is capable of being anywhere He pleases.

We should note where Solomon petitions God to treat the prayers of the Israelite people in certain specific ways.

First, we see where he asks the Lord to “give attention to Your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy”.

When anyone cries out to God in prayer, they do so hoping that their petitions first find Him and then receive His attention. And since God is omnipresent…able to be anywhere at any time…then the question of whether our prayers reach Him is a moot point. As believers, we need to know that our prayers reach our Lord each and every time we offer them up. However, the matter of Him granting attention to any prayer is another matter all together.

For we have seen in the Old Testament numerous times up to this point that when God’s chosen people decided to be disobedient and turn away from God, He would often not answer their prayers when they found themselves in the midst of consequence. We should note that this wasn’t because the Lord was absent. He received the prayers of His people but chose to not give them attention until He deemed it time to restore them.

And so Solomon, in asking God to grant attention to his prayers and the prayers of his people, sought for the ever-present Lord to receive and act on the needs of His people when they called out to Him, something that would happen as long as he and the Israelites obediently followed His will and way.

Next, we find Solomon requesting that God “hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying in Your presence this day”. Once the omnipresent God of all things turned His attention to the prayers of His people, Solomon knew it was important for Him to listen to those prayers…to listen to the praises being lifted up to Him and to receive the concerns that were on His people’s hearts in times of difficulty and trouble.

So what would come from God hearing the prayers of His people who had gained His attention?

Well…Solomon hoped that the Lord’s eyes might be opened toward the temple…the place of worship built to honor Him…the place which He said His name would be, not just some of the time but rather night and day…the place where people not only prayed within but prayed toward when they could not physically be there. And after hearing and opening His eyes toward the petitions of His people, then God could address their supplication…their earnest and humble pleas toward the omnipotent, omnipresent God who they trusted and believed in.

Friends, the lifting up of prayers to the Lord has been going on since God created mankind. And throughout this time, from the beginning until today, God has always been everywhere, ready to grant attention to His people’s petitions…ready to hear their pleas…ready to open His eyes to their expressed needs…and ready to provide for those needs in accordance with His will.

Indeed, believers don’t need to worry about trying to find the Lord because He is everywhere and the truth remains that even the highest Heaven cannot contain Him. Ditto for any temple, church, nation, home, or heart.

So as we conclude this message by looking at the question found in the title, “Where Should We Lift Up Our Prayers?”, the answer becomes simple, having been provided by the scriptures. For we can lift up them up anywhere we are and at any time…because our Lord is ever with us…just as He always has been and will always will be.

Thanks be to God for His desire to be near us and His willingness to hear and act when we call to Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.