But we do thank you from the bottom of my hearts that we are
able to gather as students of your word.
And, Lord, we know that apart from the Holy Spirit's power,
the transmission of truth cannot go very far.
And so we ask with humility and great desire, that there would
be an unusual power, a power to deliver this teaching, a power
to receive it, more importantly, a power to apply it in our
lives. So, Lord, we just ask that this
truth that we will study in this chapter will bleed into
practical Christian living. Destroy all hesitation to obey.
Destroy all distraction. Destroy all bondage, Lord, and
may we come out of this session together more alive in Christ
than when we entered in. We ask these things believing in
the inheritance that we've received in Christ Jesus, the
blessed gift of God, the Holy Spirit.
In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
First Kings chapter 8.
Meet me there in verse 22. The Bible throughout from
Genesis to Revelation, testifies of men and women of prayer.
We read of God, the God of heaven and earth answering
prayer. We learn of different types of
prayer. We even as Christians, are
exhorted by God, through the Holy Spirit, through the vessels
of Apostles, to pray, to be prayerful, to make it a practice
and a constant unbreakable attitude of ours, to be in a
place of constant dependence on the Lord in this thing called
prayer. And with all of that, the Holy
Spirit in His wisdom has preserved for us actual prayers
by certain Saints in holy writ for us to look at and examine to
be edified by. And what you and I have before
us tonight is one of the greatest prayers in all of the
Bible, in that it is one of the longest prayers recorded in the
Bible. The prayer that you and I are
going to examine carefully is that of Solomon Solomon, who
prayed at the dedication of the temple in the presence of God's
people with great humility and precision.
And the beautiful thing about this prayer is far more than the
fact that it is a very lengthy petition.
What you and I are going to be blessed by in this account of
prayer is is through a detail that is mentioned in a parallel
account to the scene in First Kings chapter 8.
So I told you to to turn there First Kings 8 but go to the
mirroring account in First Chronicles or Second Chronicles
rather Chapter 7 and verse one. This is how we should frame our
time and studying the supplication made by this king
in Second Chronicles 7/1. This is a detail that's not
mentioned in First Kings chapter 8, but it's worth highlighting.
Here's what we read as soon as Solomon finished his prayer.
Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering, and
the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
What happened as soon as Solomon finished praying?
There is a supernatural manifestation of God's approval
of what was prayed for. What do we make of this verse?
Very Simply put, God accepted Solomon's request.
And why? We should know that at the
outset of the study so that you and I can frame our
investigation of this text in a way where we realize that we're
looking at the words of a man who moved the heart of God.
We're looking at the words of a man who uttered things toward
heaven and God approved and was pleased to make his acceptance
clear and known. And that's good for us to know,
because it's one thing to pray. It's one thing to pray.
It's another thing to pray and know that God hears.
It's one thing to pray and know that God hears and be confident
that God can and will answer. We're not merely going to look
at this prayer to try to figure out the most favorable and
preferable method of prayer, though.
There are some ingredients found here that can help us be more
effective in that area. More than that, there are
several requests that Solomon makes in this one prayer.
There are several petitions that he offers to the Lord that are
worth looking at in greater detail because when we look at
these requests, what we're essentially seeing is the type
of request God is willing to hear and work with and move for.
And though there are several of them, I want to group them in
five, the number 5. I want us to take a majority of
this study tonight to look at 5 scenarios, 5 cases, five types
of prayer. That God is willing to answer.
It's not limited to these five, of course, but these are five
that are concerning to Solomon and they should be a source.
Of comfort for for us who might need consolation in the very
areas that we're going to under score.
But before we look at this list of things that God is willing to
bend his ear for and actually extend His hand to move for, we
want to look at some truths leading up to that.
And so let's read the 1st 8 verses together and then break
down our thoughts in three PSI. Want you to see that there's
going to be 3 PS that will be beneficial for US1P is going to
be the posture, the second P is going to be the praise, and the
last P is going to be the power of promise.
Or you can just. Summarize it with promise.
Are you ready? Ready or not?
Verse 22 then Solomon. Stood before the altar of the
Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and.
Spread out his. Hands toward heaven, and said, O
Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above, or
on earth beneath. Keeping covenant and showing
steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all
their heart, you have kept with your servant David, my father,
what you declare to him. You spoke with your mouth, and
with your hand have fulfilled it this day.
Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep for your servant
David, my father, what you have promised him, saying You shall
not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons pay close attention to their way to walk before me, as
you have walked before me. Now, therefore, O God of Israel,
let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your
servant David, my father. But will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Behold, heaven and the highest
heaven cannot contain you. How much less this house that I
have built and have regard to the prayer of your servant, to
his plea and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and
to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that
your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place
of which you have said My name shall be there.
That you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers
toward this place, and listen to the plea of your servant and of
your people, Israel, when they pray toward this place, and
listen in heaven, your dwelling place.
And when you hear forgive. Consider with me tonight the
posture of Solomon, verse 22. The Holy Spirit sees it
necessary for us to get a physical description of the
expression of this man's prayer. What did he do before he uttered
a word while we read that he stood?
He stood, and he stretched out his hands toward heaven.
That's an interesting note, because this is something
clearly that we should know about, and it's not to teach
that there is one mode of prayer because there are several.
There are many, many expressions of humility and brokenness and
supplication before God. And so we cannot make a case
that there is a better way to pray, that there is a more
honorable way to pray, though there are perhaps creative ways
of being dishonorable and how we pray.
But one thing that we can take comfort in is that this is not
prescriptive. This is descriptive, and the
scripture doesn't go to great lengths to tell us how we should
bend our bodies or lay out or do what we need to do with our
physical posture in order to get a better signal with God in our
praying. In fact, anybody that would make
a case that there is one way to pray has a great problem if they
take the instruction of Paul seriously when he said pray
without ceasing, how am I supposed to pray without ceasing
if there's one specific posture that I must maintain?
Paul calls for an unceasing attitude of dependence on God,
which then necessitates that what I I have to at all times in
my car as I'm at work, as I'm walking, remain in the place of
prayer, and God will honor that prayer despite what's happening
with my legs or my chin or my hands.
If we can take anything from this, it is that it would be a
challenge for those who would say that there is only one way
to pray. What generally happens when a
pastor or leader, or even the head of a house, calls for a
people to seek the Lord briefly and inquire of him?
What's the reflex? What do people do?
Isn't that what happens? They they.
They fold their hands and they bend their face.
Or they bow their head and they close their eyes.
Correct. You will not find that posture
once in all of the Bible. Isn't that funny in all this?
In all the scripture you will not see an example of somebody
bowing their head. Closing their eyes and folding
their hands to inquire. God, that's not to say it's
wrong. That's not to say it's wrong,
but it. Should 'cause people who are
critical to be reserved from looking at others who pray
differently and to say that's that's not the way you should
pray, Even the Lord Jesus himself.
What did he do in John 17? He lifted up his eyes toward
heaven, and he kept his eyes open when he prayed.
And so we read of people who lay prostate.
We leave people who sit. We read of people who sit.
We lead. We read of people who do many,
many different things in the place of prayer.
And what's more important to God is the heart posture more than
anything else. I wasn't planning to go to this
text, but here's a text in the New Testament that calls for
instruction of how corporate prayers should look like in
first Timothy 28. And what does Paul say?
That he calls for men everywhere to pray.
And then what's following that thought?
Lifting what? Not just hands.
Holy hands, Holy hands. So one that's an instruction for
how men this is. Remember, this is the order of
worship in the corporate sense. Men should be leading meetings,
right? But with that, we're told that
what? Should happen when the church
prays. Now it's not to say woman can't
pray. You read 1st Corinthians 11.
They are called to pray and in the corporate sense as well holy
hands. Paul's not speaking here more
about what we should do with our hands, but with what our hands
symbolize, our daily interactions and our daily
living and activities. Those hands should be and must
be holy, holy. And that's what makes prayer
effective. It's the holiness of the hands
more than the hands being stretched out.
And when we come to 1st Kings A, we do see the physical posture
of Solomon. Which can express reverence and
honor toward the Lord. But there is an emphasis about
his heart posture more than his physical posture.
Come back to chapter A and notice it with me.
Look here at verse 28 at First Kings 8.
Notice how he references himself.
You have regard to the prayer of who your servant, and to his
plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry, to the prayer that
your servant prays before you this day.
Here's the king of the nation willingly and joyfully calling
himself in the presence of God. I'm your servant.
I'm not in my prayer bossing you around.
I'm not commanding you to do anything.
I'm here, Coming. Empty handed Asking if you would
be good to answer these prayers and you are good.
That's why I'm coming to you in prayer.
So posture, posture, Physical posture is mentioned, heart
posture is emphasized, and if you are a person who's caught up
with how things should look. Do not be critical of those who
do lift their hands in worship as people sing.
Praise God. That's not the case here.
Who would feel the necessity to bend their knee before God?
Any of those expressions are totally acceptable as long as
they're not distracting. But then we come to praise
What's the first thing that Solomon does?
What does he do to crack the seal of his supplication?
He adores the Lord. Look here again in verse 23 and
said, oh Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in
heaven above or on earth beneath.
So before he asked for anything, he adorns the Lord his God with
his praises. He declares his goodness.
He declares his uniqueness. He declares that he is
incomparable to any other deity or thing.
And what's so amazing about this is, is though there isn't again
this one formula, this one order of how we should pray God, God
invites us to be at liberty and how we express ourselves at the
same time. There is wisdom to glean from
this. I find that adoration does more
than honor God. Let me tell you this adoration
is very foreign to people's prayer lives.
So this is so, so key and understanding.
Adoration does more than just honor God.
I find that adoration, both in practice and through principle,
in the word of God awakens faith, adoration awakens faith.
And you try this. Next time you're in a rut in
your prayers. You praise the Lord and and
realize that in praising him with your mind, with your heart,
with, with thoughtfulness, in your words, with an
understanding of who God is in the word of God and what will
begin to take place is, there's a sobriety that overcomes you.
There's a power that begins to position you to understand the
honor of being in that moment. If I find myself getting
distracted with task or intrusive thoughts, I pause and
I tend to think about who I am speaking to and it doesn't take
very long before I realize. What an honor it is to be
speaking to this God. What a privilege it is to be in
the courts of this King. And so when we praise, it's
stimulates reverence and it excites your faith.
When you consider who God is, when you consider what He is
able to do, His character and His capabilities, you will be
rescued from a passionless prayer life.
And so we see here that Solomon praises the Lord, and then he
goes from praise to another thing that really will help us
in our seeking of God, and that's tapping into the promises
of God. Notice what he does here in
verse 25. Now therefore, O Lord God of
Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have
promised him, saying you shall not lack a man to sit before me
on the throne of Israel if only your sons play.
Pay close attention to their way to walk before me as you walk
before me. Look at verse 26.
Now, therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed.
So he's saying it again in a different way.
Verse 25. Now, therefore, O Lord, God of
Israel, keep for your servant, well, you promised him.
Verse 26 Let your word be confirmed.
The courage that Solomon had to approach the Lord in this way
was because he had to grasp what God had said, what God had done
in the past. That was what gave him the
boldness to come before the Lord in this way.
And that's important because you know how most people view
prayer? They view prayer as a way of
trying to persuade a reluctant God to do something on their
behalf. All right, let's see if God is
in a better mood today. Lord, I'm going to stay a little
bit longer in prayer, and hopefully this will convince you
that I'm worthy to receive the answers to my request.
And you know how the Bible presents prayer.
Bible presents prayer in the following way.
It's really a response to an invitation that God already gave
you. To tap into and to access the
rewards and the blessings that he wants to pour out on your
life, if you see it that way. It makes prayer much more
exciting, does it not? God had said some things, and he
had given you a key to unlock it, and that key is called
prayer. And so as you come to the Lord,
you're coming based on something that he had said.
And then you're connecting that promise with faith, trusting
that the Lord will unlock it and provide it for you at the right
time. That's what prayer should look
like. As much as we are invoking the
Lord, we're also responding to an invitation that he gave in
His word. So don't drag your feet to pray
when you realize that there is a wealth, there is a treasure
waiting to be discovered if you just believe it.
And so this this king here is asking Lord, with specific
promises, Lord, would you do what you said?
Can I ask you a question? When you read the Bible, does it
in any way stimulate you to be more prayerful?
If you're a consistent student of the word of God, I will make
a very bold claim. It should make you more of a
prayerful person. If not, maybe you're not
studying the Bible, right? Because if what you're hearing,
even a Bible study, what you're hearing on Sundays is not 'cause
you to be drawn to a personal place of communion with the
Lord, you're not hearing it, right?
You know, one of the prayers of any person who preaches the word
of God should be this. This would be my this would be
my my counsel that whatever subject you are declaring, let
the goal be this, that it would draw people closer to the Lord
Jesus no matter what it is. Even if you're talking through
Leviticus, let the word 'cause people to want closer communion
with Him, a deeper intimacy with him, And if the.
Word is not drawing you toward that place.
Maybe you're on the quest for knowledge more than intimacy
with the Lord. And there's a big difference.
You can tell when somebody has Bible knowledge but doesn't have
the knowledge of God's presence in their lives.
And it's a sad sight to me. It's a sad sight to me.
So we talk about these three PS. There's posture, there is
praise, there is the power of promise.
But now we come to five types of prayer that God is willing to
hear, and they're categorized in these requests.
But let's Let's put them under these five headings.
If you're taking notes based on what Solomon asked for, the
first thing that we could be confident in knowing that God is
willing to hear is that He's willing to.
Hear and help with difficult, almost impossible matters.
Let's read here in verse 31, and depending on what kind of Bible
you have, you'll even see how these requests are separated by
the way they designed the the format of the text.
Look at verse 31. If a man sins against his
neighbor and is made to take an oath, and comes and swears his
oath before your altar in this house, then hear in heaven and
act and judge your servants condemning the guilty by
bringing his conduct on his own head and vindicating the
righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
Here's what Solomon has as a primary concern, justice in the
land. And he realizes that what's
going to follow naturally are disputes, problems, conflict,
relational problems, accusations.
He's already dealt with some, and he's planning to see more.
And so he asked the Lord for something very specific, because
Solomon's aware that there are even some predicaments that are
void of eyewitnesses. They were done in private.
They were done in secret. They were done without public
knowledge. And So what that would demand at
this time was that when there was an accusation made against a
brother, that brother was called to appear before the temple,
before the altar, and make an oath.
And to make an oath in that setting was far more than for
him to have his conscience pricked.
Like how what we see in our courts today where people put
their hands on the Bible to make them feel the holiness of that
moment, It's far more than that. What we're guaranteed here and
based on this prayer, based on what Solomon's asking the Lord,
is that when this would happen, God would supernaturally expose
the wrongdoer and you would confirm the innocent.
How that happened, we are not told.
Perhaps the strongest clue we have is through the Urim and the
Thummim of the priest, where there would be something
revealed to the leadership that would expose the guilty and
would confirm the innocent. And so, Solomon asked the Lord,
when these situations come about, where it's humanly
impossible to find out who's right and who's wrong, would
you? Would you make it known?
You know what I find so fascinating about what Solomon's
asking here? This is a man who, just a few
chapters ago, solved A humanly impossible situation, Remember,
with two prostitutes came before him, both claiming the life of
one child, both blaming that they are the ones who are lying.
Remember that And Solomon had wisdom from God to discern who
was in the right and who was in the wrong.
And this kind of man, who was praised with such heavenly
wisdom, sees the need to ask God to do what only he can do.
Well, Solomon, you were able to do it, but here's what Solomon
believed. No matter what kind of mind get
God gave me, I still need God. Yeah, no matter.
What kind of gifting he has provided me?
I still am in need. Moment by moment, day by day,
case by case, I need the Lord to intervene.
I need the Lord to intervene. I can't depend on my strength.
I can't depend on my history. I can't depend on my track
record. I can only depend upon the Lord
providing my daily bread and doing what only He can do.
I realize that even this mind is given by God, and if he doesn't
sustain it, He gave it. But if he doesn't sustain it,
then I will never know true success.
God has started many things, but because of people's pride, the
thing that God started wasn't sustained.
God can start a church miraculously, but if the
leadership and the people are not remaining humble and
dependent on God, God will shut that church down.
He has no problem. He's not concerned about his
reputation in that sense. He's not concerned about what
people will say. He's concerned about his name,
and he's concerned about his people walking in his ways more
than anything else. When they veer off, he's willing
to make it very clear that he's not pleased.
But here's Solomon, at this juncture of his life, realizing
God, if you don't do it, it's not going to happen.
So what's the principle behind this?
What if, Solomon asked him, what is prayer able to unlock?
Well, it's able to unvault heavenly wisdom, is it not?
It's able to reveal what is hidden in the dark, bringing it
to light. It's able to dissent, dismantle
the deceptive schemes of man. Satan will have a very difficult
time. Those who have footholds in
their lives for Satan work through will have a very
difficult time taking advantage of prayerful people.
You do not know what you're up against, my friend.
When you try to come against a Saint of God, a man or woman
who's in tune with God in prayer, you have no idea what
you're messing with. Why?
Because a man who seeks Lord and humility and walks and conscious
obedience. To him has God on his side, and
we talked about this a couple weeks ago in Joshua Chapter 9 in
our prayer meeting, that Joshua and the Israelites of that
generation were entered into the Promised Land.
They had a promise. They had God's presence to some
extent. But in that particular case,
when the Gibeonites came and deceived them, thinking that
they were from a faraway land, when in fact they were
inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they did not.
The scripture says to Joshua and I, they did not inquire of the
Lord and they were deceived. That's the reason why they were
overcome by the lies of the enemy, because they did not
pause to look at the all the elements and all the
presentation. Say Lord, is this of you
implying that if they had prey, they would have been rescued
from deception? The schemes and the trickery of
Satan. And so Solomon says here, Lord,
I'm praying because I believe that in and through this prayer
you're willing to answer and keep us from being overcome by
deception, by lies, by doing something unjust, by doing
something that is missing. The Mark prayer that God is
willing to hear is 1 that He's able to help with concerning
matters that seem impossible or difficult.
But it's more than that. We come here and we read what
what's next? Look at verse 33.
When your people are defeated before the enemy because they
have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and
acknowledge your name, and pray and plead with you in this
house, then here in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people
Israel, and bring them again to the land that you gave to their
fathers, highlight that. When your people Israel,
defeated before the enemy. But look here at verse 35.
This is the same thought when heaven is shut up and there is
no rain, because they have sinned against you.
If they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and
turn from their sin when you afflict them, then here in
heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants your people
Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should
walk. Look here at verse 37.
If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight
or mildew or locust or Caterpillar, if their enemy
besieges them in the land, at the gates, at their gates,
whatever plague, whatever sickness there is.
OK, so it seems long winded, but it fits under one category.
Solomon now begins to describe the potential consequences of
unrepentant sin and continual rebellion.
And he knows the word of God very well, because Deuteronomy
and Leviticus spell out the exact acts of discipline that
will ensue from the nation who choose to turn their back on
God. And what Solomon has in mind
here is that God would answer the prayers of those who are
enduring the chastisement for their trespass.
And so here's the. Second type of prayer that God
is willing to hear and answer. God is willing to hear and
answer those who pray as they endure the consequences of their
sin. Why is that important?
Because for many people sin as they pursue it feel hopeless,
especially when they are faced with the consequences of their
actions. Some consequences are more
severe than others, but sometimes those consequences
could be so intense and life altering that in in doing that
they think to themselves and believe.
Perhaps I've been cut off from God's mercy altogether.
This is it. I can't see how moving forward
from this place, I can have God's full favor again, His full
pleasure over my life again. I am forever scarred with the
consequence of the sin. I can never undo what my sin has
done. And Solomon here begins to
describe the different kind of scenarios that sin can lead the
people into. But with every scenario, he
asked the Lord to be able to hear them if they in that moment
come to their senses, cry out to God, say, oh God, please forgive
me, please restore me. God is willing to hear the
prayer of those who have gone so far away from him, so deep in
darkness, so contrary to the convictions that they once held
to if they pause and pray and look to the Lord.
Solomon here, by way of principle, teaches us that God
is willing to say, I hear you and I will do something about
your predicament. What kind of sin?
Notice again. Look here at the end of verse
37. He says here, whatever plague,
whatever sickness there is, there is no category of
wrongdoing, regardless of what kind of judgement it invites
into your life, that God's grace is unavailable for.
There's not one single think about that.
Think about how significant that is.
And all that is required to reach God in restoration is a
contrite heart, right? Notice what Solomon says here in
verse 38. Whatever prayer, whatever plea
is made by any man or by your people, all your people, Israel.
Each. Knowing the affliction of his
own heart and stretching out his hands towards his house, you
know, he didn't say. Just stretching out his hands
toward his house. He could have said that.
Lord, if you see anybody stretching out their hand
towards his house, hear them. But what is he?
What is he followed up with? What's preceding That Rather
says here if they know the affliction in their heart, it's
not about some external thing that God has to see.
You've been coming to church 10 weeks in a row.
I think I'll take you out of the penalty box now.
That's not how God works. No, it's it begins internally.
It's the heart that's broken and contrite.
That is what is required for the Lord to move favorably.
Again, in your life when you realize this is the mess, that
this is the offense that I have brought about to the name of
God. And then when God sees that he's
willing to do miracles in your life again and bring reversal to
the mess that you brought into your life again.
And Solomon here shows that there's still hope and prayer is
still something that can be utilized even when you don't
deserve it because of your performance lately.
So what happens? He says here, please hear them.
Look at verse 39 very quickly. This is just a side note worth
mentioning. Then here in heaven your
dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose
heart you know according to all his ways.
Look what's in parentheses here. For you, you only know the
hearts of all the children of mankind, that they may fear you
all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our
fathers. Who's Solomon praying to?
Who's he praying to? God.
What's His name? Yahweh.
And what prerogative, What exclusive ability does he pin on
Yahweh and Yahweh alone for you? You only what?
Know the hearts of all the children of mankind.
That only belongs to you. Only Yahweh can scan the hearts
of all inhabitants of the lands. The nations, the cities, the
streets, in the neighborhoods and be able to perfectly
interpret what's going on in their hearts.
That's powerful, what said. Of Jesus, let me remind you in
Revelation 2 as Jesus speaks through John to a particular
church, and he mentions this in verse 23 concerning Christ and
Revelation 223 as a warning to them who thought that they can
live and sin, We're told that Christ in his love for his
church. Says the following in Revelation
223 and I will strike her children dead.
Speaking of Jezebel in the church, the spirit of Jezebel in
the church and all the churches will know.
Look what Jesus says. I am he.
Who searches mind and heart? And I will give to each one of
you according to your works. So Christ claims to be able to
do what only Yahweh is able to do, and that's search the hearts
and minds of men and be able to give the specific reward or
punishment in accordance with the cleanliness or the
corruption in that heart. If you want another verse to add
to your arsenal, it's Jeremiah 1710.
Notice what's said about the Lord.
Again Yahweh and Jeremiah 17. 10 And and connect that with how
Christ is spoken of, and how Christ speaks of himself in the
New Testament. Here's Jeremiah 1710.
I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind to give every
man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his
deeds. Isn't that what he said to the
church? He said it.
Let me read it to you again. I am E who searches mind and
heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Well, Yahweh said that in Jeremiah.
Solomon said that that belongs to the Lord alone.
And Jesus comes and says I can do that.
Why? Because Jesus is Yahweh, that's
why. Just a side note.
So we see here that Solomon believe that God will hear
prayer of those who endure the consequences of sin.
But that's that's not it #3. Let's come again back to first
Kings eight. Look at verse 41.
Likewise when a foreigner Solomon says who is not of.
Your people. Israel comes from a far country
for your name's sake, for they shall hear of your great name
and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm, when he
comes and prays toward this house here in heaven your
dwelling place, And do according to all for which the foreigner
cost you, in order that all the peoples of the.
Earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people
Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have
built is called by your name. So now Solomon.
Zooms from his people, from the people of Israel.
Zooms out and considers the alien that extraterrestrial
aliens, foreigners and neighboring nations who worship
heathen gods. But at some point come to their
senses and realize that's the true God.
And I want to know this God. I want to pray to this God.
And so Solomon now is very much in tune with the heart of God.
He he knows God's word enough to realize that God has a heart for
the Gentiles. Even here, God has a heart for
the neighboring nations. Don't get into this false notion
that Jesus in the New Testament introduces grace for the
Gentiles. Whereas God in the Old Testament
was hesitant and it wasn't in his mind, God always had the
Gentiles in mind in electing the nation of Israel, making a
covenant with them. That covenant with Israel was
not an end in itself, it was a means to a different end.
Israel was raised up to be a nation.
Yes, God in his sovereignty has the right to choose any nation
and to deal specially with that nation.
But we see in this book that God through the election of Israel,
wanted to bless all the families of the earth, and he wanted this
house, even in the old covenant, to be a House of prayer for what
all peoples, all nations. You read about Jesus and Isaiah
49, where we're told of the servant of the Lord that it was
too light of a thing to redeem Jacob alone.
I will make you a light to the nations, and you will go, and
you'll redeem the. The coastlands and everybody
else across the world. So we see, This is why you need
to know the Old Testament. And the more you study and the
more you learn about it, the more you realize that there is a
consistent thread with the character, nature and the will
of God. You think about the Black Hebrew
Israelites. Have you seen these guys on the
streets? Yeah.
OK, so you know what I'm talking about.
If not, I encourage you not to Google them.
You might run into them if you walk in any major city long
enough downtown or something. These guys believe that one,
they are the true nation of Israel, that they are the true
people of God, and in their theology, they're called in
their theology. They totally deny that God has
any favorable will for the Gentiles.
So what do you do as a Christian when you meet these kind of
people who believe these things? And by the way, it's getting
greater popularity, especially for African Americans and those
from that background. What do you do when you're
confronted with that and they quote scripture about how
Gentiles will bow before the Jews and how Israel rise above
all their nations? What do you need to know your
Hebrew Scriptures? You need to show from the Hebrew
scriptures they'll deny the New Testament.
Show from the Hebrew Scriptures this is what the God of the
nation of Israel, the true nation of Israel, has in mind
for Gentiles, not just for that people.
So Solomon had the mind of God in this, and this is the request
that he makes. So what's the principle here?
Here's point number three of the kind of prayers that God is
willing to hear. God is willing to hear any man
who comes to him. God is willing to hear any man
who comes to him. That's the truth from this
request. And this shows that the Lord
does not discriminate based on personal history, current
status, spiritual heritage, or any other measure that might
make us as humans, even dear Christians, to look at somebody
and to evaluate through human standards whether or not they
are worthy enough to be used by God in a special way, to be
heard by God favorably. How do you modernize that?
Well, you have some people, honestly, who might think you
know the descendant of a Christian family will receive
God's favor more than a guy like me who escaped from a heathen
family and decided to align myself with the truth.
Because who am I in comparison to somebody who has that kind of
background That might not mean much to you, the point that I'm
presenting to you because most of us in here grew up in the
church. Most of us.
Not all of us. But I'm telling you what I'm
saying, I'm sure will bring great comfort and joy to the
person who has a criminal record.
Person who's been raised by parents who were involved in
witchcraft and taught their kids to blasphemy.
The true. God.
God is willing to, if you just simply humble yourself and
acknowledge him as the true God, receive you, hear you.
And in this case, Solomon, I'm sure, blew some people's minds
who are unfamiliar with the heart of God.
Psalm is actually asking God to do something of blessing those
who are not in covenant by way of inheritance.
Wow. Wow.
And so no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no
matter what you've done, if you're washing the blood, you're
no greater than the greatest Saints that the Church has ever
known. You have same access to God.
You have the same privilege and promises to you.
And this is what Solomon is asking the Lord to do, knowing
that the Lord was somebody who is willing to answer it. #4 the
4th kind of prayer that God is willing to hear and answer.
God is willing to hear us as we face adversity and danger.
Notice what's said in verse 44, the situation, the circumstance
that Solomon presents. If your people go out to battle
against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, that's
an important thing to highlight even at this time.
Whenever Israel was engaged in war, it had to be commanded by
God. They didn't have the freedom to
go and lay siege of different lands and bring conquest into.
They did not have that kind of right.
So that's an important text to make note of if your people.
Go out to battle against their enemy by whatever way you shall
send them. It has to be divinely ordained,
so keep that in mind when people criticize the God of the Old
Testament as being genocidal. Keep that in mind for the idea
that the people of God who in the Old Testament did engage in
wars, we're not doing so with liberty and with subjective
reasonings. They took it from a righteous
and holy God who knew when to attack and when to bring about
discipline to a people who deserve it by whatever way you
shall send them. And they pray to the Lord toward
the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built
for your name. Then here in heaven their prayer
and their plea, and maintain their cause.
So now Psalm has something in mind even when our army is out
in battle and they are at a great distance from the House of
God. Lord, would you consider the
request as they turn their face toward the House of worship and
implore and inquire for your intervention?
Prayer brings assistance to us in adversity and in the face of
many dangers. And what I love about what
Solomon is saying here is that he himself, even as a military
leader, as a king, did not believe that human, you know,
resources and abilities where salvation comes from, no matter
what kind of thing you got going on, no matter what kind of
network you have, no matter what kind of connections deliverance
is of the Lord solution comes from the sovereign God.
The best results come from the one who can only do the best
possible outcome in any given situation, and this is what
Solomon is asking for. Lord, even with our army we
don't put our trust. In the arm of the flesh, we're
asking even in this very physical reality, would you
intervene and make away And the principle?
We're not called to any holy war.
We're not called to engage in any physical battle.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Here's the principle. No matter what kind of because
we do have an enemy and there is warfare.
And no matter what kind of situation presents itself
against you, you can pray and believe that God will find the
best way to give you victory in it, the best way.
The praying man is out of advantage.
I said earlier that Satan has at a greater disadvantage when he's
up against a praying woman, a praying man, a praying mom, a
praying father, praying church. So let me flip it.
You are at a great the greatest advantage when you know how to
call upon the Lord and everything and for all things.
May I remind you of Ahithophel when it was told to David while
he was in exile. This man, whose words were like
the oracles of God, has chosen to divorce himself from you,
David. And line up with your rebellious
son, Absalom. Humanly speaking, David would
have been finished. And one of my favorite prayers
in all of the Bible is what prayer?
The prayer David prayed in that moment when he learned we're in
trouble. What did he did?
He sighed. A prayer, O Lord, turned the
wisdom of Ahithophel. Into what Foolishness.
Foolishness. Did God answer that prayer?
He did answer that prayer. Whatever was presented to
Absalom was rejected by Absalom, and God did even more than what
prayer, What David pray for Ahithophel was eliminated as a
threat for the rest of David's life.
You know what that teaches. Let me remind you from that
Bible study that teaches that a man of prayer is at a greater
advantage in the most brilliant mind.
That's what that teaches the man of prayer.
The woman of prayer is at a greater advantage than the
strongest man, the richest man, the smartest man.
When God finds a man who is praying, he is the strongest.
And this is what Solomon believed, even with his standing
army. Lord, if it's if it ever comes
to the point that this would happen, please hear our prayers
and the prayers of your people when they call upon you.
And we read of stories in kings where certain kings believe that
Hezekiah right ASA where they ask the Lord.
The Lord came through and brought about victory and it is
rooted in this. Lastly, what kind of prayers is
God willing to answer? What kind of things is God
willing to do in prayer? God is willing to hear the
prayer of one man on behalf of so many others.
You're not going to see that based on what I'm about to read,
but you will in a moment. This is the longest portion of
Dave, or rather Solomon's Petition in this one prayer.
It's from verse 46 down to verse 53.
I'm not going to read all of it, but let me read the first few if
they sin against you. So now he revisits his idea of
sin. Solomon seems to be very
concerned of the future spiritual state of the nation of
Israel, and here's why. Look what he says.
For there is no one who does not sin.
He's aware of human frailty and faithlessness.
And you are angry with them, and give them to an enemy, so that
they are carried away, captive to the land of the enemy, far
off or near. Yet if they turn their heart in
the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and
plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, We have
sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly.
If they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in
the land of their enemies who carried them captive, and pray
to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the
city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for
your name, we'll stop there. So the the situation that
Solomon has in mind, because you already talked about the
consequences of sin, now he speaks about the worst of the
worst outcomes. Exile.
You couldn't get any lower than that as the people of.
God. Because this land was promised,
there was so much promise of security and longevity for
generations to come. But Solomon understood that
there is there was a time that could come where the people
could sow sin against God, and so where At his.
Patience, the Lord says, I'm bringing a nation, You're out of
here, And this is what Solomon asked.
Lord, even in the land of their captors, whatever generation
that might happen in, even in the land of captivity, would you
hear their prayers if they turn their face towards Jerusalem and
implore and seek. You with a repentant heart
question. Do you ever see in the Old
Testament a situation, whether that be the Assyrian exile that
took over the north or the Babylonian exile that took over
the South, where the nation of Israel cried out to the Lord in
this way while they were in exile?
You got it. Did you hear it?
You'd be hard pressed to find a national movement during
captivity where the people as a whole, or at least a large
population, remember the words of Solomon and cried out in
order to be restored to their home.
But he speaks about them in the plural, does he?
Not if they turn their heart. Verse 47 verse 40.
Eight if they. Repent with all their mind.
The only instance that you see of a fulfillment of this is with
one man. Who's that man?
You heard it, Daniel. Go to that chapter very quickly.
We're almost done here, Daniel. Chapter nine.
Look at the first few verses. I love Daniel.
Not for the obvious reasons why. I have a friend and we were
talking about, he's a dear brother in the Lord and we were
talking about how we were named. And and he told me he said my
father was planning to call me Daniel.
And I said, really? And he goes, yeah, But then he
didn't want me to have to live with that burden, to live up to
such a name. And so he named me a different
name. I thought, oh gosh, I don't even
think about for that my name. But Daniel is a profound person
in the scriptures and we see him praying at a certain point in
his life. He's always praying throughout
the book of Daniel. But look at this in verse one of
chapter nine in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahusurus
by descent Amede. Who has made?
King over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of
his reign. I Daniel perceived in the books
the number of years that according to the word of the
Lord to Jeremiah, the prophet must pass before the end of the
desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years.
I love Daniel. We know Daniel to be a man of
prayer, man of conviction. But you know what?
You can add something to this man's example.
He was a man who knew the Bible. Daniel studied the Bible, and we
see here that Daniel studied. He perceived other translations,
say there in verse two, that he understood the books.
He didn't just read it. He sought to master it and to
seek its applications in his life.
And this is what? He realized Jeremiah divine
revelation revealed in Jeremiah 25 that the Exile will last 70
years and Daniel's been doing some math work.
We're leading up to 70 years again.
Does the Bible fuel your prayer life?
Because it does for Daniel. He understood what was said,
right? And this is fascinating.
This is prophecy. This is an eternal decree by
God. You would think that if there's
anything that you would read in the Bible that would not cause
you to make any actions or response, it would be prophecy.
What can you do about it? God said it's going to happen,
so just enjoy the ride. That's not how Daniel understood
prophecy. He understood prophecy and he
goes, oh, I better get praying. Let me ask God to fulfill this.
It's incredible how this man thought so.
He seeks the Lord, right? And look here, verse 3.
Then I turn my faith. Then I.
What do you mean turned your faith?
You're in Babylon. What do you think he's turned
his face to? Then I turn my face to the Lord
God, seeking him by prayer and please for mercy, with fasting
and southcloth and ashes. Daniel is doing this out of a
response of what he read in Jeremiah.
Only Jeremiah. Do you think he just knew
Jeremiah? No.
He knew first Kings chapter 8 and he knew Solomon prayed and
God answered by fire, saying, I approve that these requests.
Solomon said that whenever his people would be in captivity,
that if they repent with all their heart, turn their face
toward the House of God, and seek the Lord, he's willing to
bring them home. One man, not the whole nation.
He doesn't call for the remnant to seek the Lord by himself.
He bends his knee. He puts on sackcloth and ashes,
and he seeks the Lord on behalf of his people.
When you read this prayer, it's one of the great prayers of the
Bible as well. He includes himself.
We have sinned. We have sinned.
You know how significant that is?
Daniel was a man. He was imperfect.
But try to find a recorded fault in Daniel's life.
In his book, try. And yet this man says, we, we,
we and God heard that prayer. God honor that prayer.
God preserved that prayer. And so I make the point that
here's a man who prayed a prayer that really belonged to the
nation, called the nation to respond to, and he did it on his
own, on behalf of the nation. And God is willing to hear a
man, even if that man prays for a country, even that man prays
for a church. Even if a man prays for a city,
God will honor that one man's prayer.
That's powerful. Can we stay with Daniel a little
bit? Because I really like him.
Think about it. We heard from Pastor Daniel when
he spoke out of Daniel at a couple of Sundays in a row, or
where Daniel was believed to be around how old When he came into
Babylon. He was a teenager, probably
around 15 years old, very zealous in Daniel.
Chapter one, right? I mean, as a teenager he stood
his ground and he had zeal and passion and conviction.
And now based on Daniel Chapter 9, we read that 70 years, close
to 70 years passes by, which would make Daniel.
What if we believe he was 15 in Daniel chapter one close to 85?
Is there any aversion, any dilution to his zeal?
He remained constant, just as passionate, just as solid.
Just as trusting in God, just as Worshipful as an 85 year old
man. So don't buy the lie that the
older you get, things become more familiar and you're just
going to cool off. That's not Daniel.
He didn't cool off. He just burned brighter.
He he was stronger in his faith and so he comes before the Lord.
And what do you think happened from Daniel chapter one to
Daniel Chapter 9? Do you think he just sat in the
same room for 70 years? No kingdoms came and went.
Government shifted. He only received greater and
greater promotion. And with all the promotion, all
the accolades, all the shifts around, one thing didn't change.
This man's prayer life. This man's prayer life did not
shift. Rulers shifted.
His financial and social status changed.
One thing didn't change even when a law was given.
If you pray in these next 30 days.
You'll be killed and he just all right time to pray.
And he just went and prayed. I love Daniel.
You know what he could have done?
What many Christians would have done.
I just 30 days. Some Christians have gone longer
without praying without any law. I just 30 days.
I'll just wait till it's done. And I don't want to step on
anybody's toes. You know I'm a high-ranking
official of course. And Romans 13, right?
Obey the government. Now be the government.
Now we come to concluding thoughts in First Kings Chapter
8. It's a long chapter.
Solomon provides First Kings 52 a summary of what he's trying to
say. First Kings 852.
This is one way we can wrap up the kinds of prayer that God is
willing to hear and answer verse 52.
Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the
plea of your people, Israel. Giving ear to them whenever they
call to you, Lord, just as a general request, whenever they
call. Upon you would you just answer?
And God answered by fire, he goes, I'm willing, I'm willing.
Now look at these last things that Solomon says he He begins
to now turn and give a benediction to the people in
verse 54. So now as Solomon finished
offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from
before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands
outstretched to heaven. Anything pop out to you in that
verse? Who said it?
He knelt. How did he start?
At some point, based on how the text flows, At some point he
began standing with his hands stretched out, and he felt the
weightiness of that moment, and he began to go to his knees.
So he started on his feet. He ended on his knees.
It's a picture of growing submission in the place of
prayer. So he gets out of off his knees.
He turns to the people, and he stood again in verse 55 And he
stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud
voice, saying, Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his
people, Israel according to all that he promised.
Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke
by Moses, his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as
he was with our fathers. May not leave us or forsake us,
that He may incline our hearts to Him to walk in all His ways,
and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His rules,
which He commanded our fathers. Now look at this in verse 59.
Let these words of mine with which I have pleaded before the
Lord be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he
maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his
people, Israel, as each day requires.
This was Solomon's wish. Lord, this great prayer that
I've prayed as humbly as I could.
Pray it as specifically as I could pray it.
Lord, may these words stay near to you day and night, day and
night, day and night. And what was a wish for Solomon
is later revealed to be a reality for all the Saints.
When you go to Revelation 5/8 you learn that this the Saints
and their prayers, more specifically that come up before
the throne of God, are preserved by God in golden bowls of
incense. I just love that thought.
That what? Solomon really longed.
For God reveals, not only do I remember them, it's a sweet
fragrance to me. You know what's important to me?
I forget some of the prayers I've prayed.
God doesn't. Sometimes we see our prayers as
just fanciful thinking, and if we throw enough of them up
there, one of them will eventually be caught by the
Lord. One of them will land at the
foot of His throne. That's not how God sees it.
Every prayer that's been prayed in sincerity of heart and
truthfulness has been reserved preserved as an aroma.
To him, that's incredible, Psalmist says Lord.
Would it be close to you? Revelation says, not only is it
close to me, I put it in this golden display, and I enjoy
knowing that you depend on me day and night.
Solomon here in verse 61 says, Let your heart speaking to the
people, therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God walking in
His statutes and keeping His commandments as at this day.
Go back to how Solomon began his prayer in verse 23.
O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above
or on earth beneath. And what is the one thing that
he highlights in terms of his incomparable greatness?
Keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants
who walk before you with all their heart.
The thing that caused Solomon's heart to praise him as his
faithfulness, his steadfast commitment to those who walk
before him. And how does Solomon end this?
He ends this by turning to the people with a benediction.
It says God has been faithful to you.
You be faithful to God. That's what he says.
Let your heart, you know God's heart.
You heard about God's heart now. Let your heart therefore be
wholly true to the Lord our God. And that's how he closes this
segment of the dedication. For the remaining of the chapter
he performs great acts of sacrifices.
Thousands upon thousands of the greatest of beasts were slain to
the point where they could not even put it on the altar.
They had to dedicate a whole section of the outer court so
that they can lay out all these animals and give something of
great worth to the Lord. And they celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles. In verse 66 we read on the
eighth day. He sent the people away, and
they blessed the king and went to their homes, joyful and glad
of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to
David, his servant, and to Israel, his people.
Here's the little thought that sprung in my heart when I read
this today. I thought, Lord.
In the same way that the people left your house, glad of heart,
filled with joy, shouldn't it be true every single Sunday?
Shouldn't it be every Sunday? We should leave here no matter
how we came in? Filled with joy, Filled with a
revelation of the goodness of God, bringing laughter to our
soul. Holy laughter.
And knowing who it is that we serve.
And Solomon now finished speaking to God.
And in Chapter 9, God is going to speak to Solomon.
Let's pray. Let's pray.
We heard about prayer. If you want to lift up holy
hands, you can lift up holy hands.
If you want your eyes to be open to heaven, your eyes can be open
toward heaven. If you want to bow your head and
close your eyes, what's more important is your heart in this
moment as you were speaking to the living God.
The same God of Solomon, the same God of David, same God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same God of Paul, the same God
of Peter. James and John is the same God
who hears us today. Father, we thank you that we get
to be in your house tonight and we pray that the deposit these
people had at the end of this dedication, service of great
joy, gladness of heart would be our portion as well.
We ask, oh Lord, that we would be rekindled and rejuvenated in
the place of prayer, and knowing that you're willing to hear,
knowing that the access we have with our request and our
circumstances are far beyond what we can imagine.
And Lord, whatever circumstance any person finds himself in
today, whether they're in need of help, whether they're in need
of restoration with you, whether they're in need of wisdom or
clarity, Lord, may they not fail to look to you in the place of
prayer. In all things, and for all
things, believing that you will answer, and believing that you
will come through and that you will be glorified in it, Would
you make us a people of prayer? Would you make us Lord years
from now, people who have not changed in their conviction and
practice of seeking you sweetly and desperately at times, make
us like Daniel. Make us like this man who
whenever he engaged with the word of God, it just added fuel
to the fire of his personal intimacy with you.
Oh Lord, make us like Daniel, that no matter what changes come
to our country, to our own worlds, to the world at large,
that one thing would not change, and that's our posture of
humility before you. In the place of prayer, Lord, we
look to you and we ask make this church a prayer church.
Keep us as a praying church, and may we see the fruit of our
prayers. Thank you.
That even now, what is happening now is that you are collecting
every prayer that's being offered in every heart.
And you are securing them and sealing them as a sweet trophy
before your throne. What a mighty God we serve.
We crown you with our praise and adoration.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen and Amen.
O Saints, it's so great to see so many of you on a Friday
night. You bless my heart.
More importantly, you bless the heart of God.
Let's stand now in the presence of the Lord.
Sing to the living God. Honor him and worship on a
Friday night. He's worthy, worthy of more than
just a Sunday afternoon. He's worthy of day and night
worship.