“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; 23 and he said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
7 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.” 1 Kings 8:22=30 NKJV
Lord God of Israel,
I picture myself standing with the elders in the Temple listening to Solomon’s prayer before the Holy of Holies, that no man can enter, and in the glory of the overwhelmingly awesome, beautiful Temple. Embroidered curtains, wooden doors overlaid with gold, carvings and golden utensils . . . and note that he was not distracted. His body reached out to You along with his desire and his voice.
And along with the wisdom he was granted he raises his hands to heaven and asks that You would hear both his supplications and prayers and those of his people Israel for the future. And in the middle a question – will You God indeed dwell on the earth? Because he acknowledges Your are greater than heaven and the heaven of heavens and deign to be present but cannot contained in a Temple no matter how glorious.
Oh how wonderful it is to stand now, today, not in a Temple but at home and know that You did indeed dwell on the earth as a man. You know us very well and still love us. Enough to die for us. And still love us. So now we lift our hands to You, knowing Your presence is always with us and ask that You continue to love us in Jesus and hear or prayers for our today and future days. Where else would we go but to You, God?
In Jesus name we pray.
Worship Friday 30th May 2025
You make Your face to shine on me
And that my soul knows very well
You lift me up I’m cleansed and free
And that my soul knows very well
When mountains fall I’ll stand
By the power of Your hand
And in Your heart of hearts I’ll dwell
And that my soul knows very well
Twice
Joy and strength each day I’ll find
And that my soul knows very well
Forgiveness hope I know is mine
And that my soul knows very well
Chorus Repeat . . .
Lyrics: Darlene Zschech Russell Fragar