Devotional - June 11, 2004

Nothing describes intercession more than a plea from someone in authority on behalf of God's people. Solomon was just such a man. In 1 Kings, he dedicated the Temple and used the word "pray" fifteen times and a reference to prayer (like verse 52) more times than that. No doubt, praying fills the heart of an intercessor.

Reading Solomon's dedication, you can see what God expects from His children when they're hurting. It's as though prayer is the key to deliverance and the absence of it like embracing sorrow and pain as God's plan for us.

Why don't we pray? Every situation is different, but it's undeniable that the primary reason is the broken relationship that exists between God and His children. In marriage, isn't severed communication the first thing affected when the relationship is in trouble? It's the same way with prayer. No doubt, you can tell the extent of a person's love for God by the amount of time he or she is spending with Him in prayer.

Solomon described a certain call to prayer that begins with a consequence of sin that invades our life. Look in verse 33-37 and you'll see what we should do in times of trouble: turn to God, point in the right direction, turn from our sin and listen to God's word with a heart inclined toward obedience.

You may be thinking that Solomon was describing a plan whereby we wait for trouble to come our way before we pray. That's not correct! Instead, he's praying in advance for things that he knows will no doubt come his way. He is laying the groundwork for prayer because he is confident that situations will come that demand it for survival's sake.

We've talked about having a correct position when praying. Solomon built a beautiful building and told the people to turn toward it when praying. But it's not just Jews that pray that way. Go to an international airport and three times a day, you likely see Islamic Arabs roll out a prayer carpet wherever they are, get on their knees facing Meca (their holy city), bow down and recite a mantra from the Koran.

The way Jews and Arabs face when they pray can be called a position, but a spiritual position is not the direction you face, but rather to whom you are praying. As Christians, we declare our spiritual position is through Jesus' blood and Righteousness. God is not impressed with the manner of our prayer, but He is interested in who we are, on what basis we approach Him and what needs we have.

I am so glad I serve a God who does not dwell in the dirt, or between walls of brick and mortar. He does not dwell in the East or the West, nor does he dwell in the heavens, but in the heart of those who have the ultimate "position" living in their hearts. His Name is Holy Spirit and He is worthy of our praise and adoration because he has turned our body into a holy temple that goes where we go.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( 1 Ki. 8:1-66 Ac. 7:51-8:13 Ps. 129:1-8 Pr. 17:1 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society