prayer

And

After Solomon became king, when he prayed for wisdom, God said to him, “Behold I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days” (1 Kings 3:12-13).

The full extent of Solomon’s riches is not known, but it says in 1 Kings 9:27-28, “And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fet from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.” Today the value of that gold shipment would be about $850 million, so Solomon was definitely a billionaire by today’s standards. I think it’s interesting that when Solomon asked for wisdom, God also gave him wealth. It would appear that they were a package deal, that he couldn’t have wisdom without wealth and vice versa.

When I was a brand new Christian, I asked God to give me a son. He told me that he would give me a son and he was going to give me a husband that would love me. At the time, I didn’t care much if I had a husband, and if I did have one, I didn’t expect him to love me. Now, I realize that a son without a father is not what God wanted for me. In order for my son to be the blessing I was hoping for, he needed a godly father that would raise him to be a follower of Jesus Christ, a true believer, as I am now. I didn’t know that a husband loving his wife was the best example there was of a godly man, and as a true believer in Jesus Christ, that’s what my son needed.

God’s response

It goes without saying that when we pray, we expect to get an answer, but I wonder, do we really? I’ve heard it said that prayer is supposed to be like having a conversation with God, and yet, I’m still amazed that the first time I prayed, God actually answered me.

When Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple, God answered him, but not until several years later. It says in 2 Chronicles 7:11-12, “Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the kings house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously affected. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.” It says in 2 Chronicles 8:1 that it took Solomon 20 years to build “the house of the LORD, and his own house,” so it appears God’s response came at least 13 years after Solomon prayed at the temple dedication (1 Kings 6:38 – 7:1).

The obvious question is, why did it take the LORD so long to respond? God operates outside of time, so from his perspective, there was no delay. His response came when the outcome had been decided. Because we have free will, our actions to a certain extent determine God’s responses to our prayers.

God’s response to Solomon contained an if/then statement. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Prayer alone does not get God’s attention. God looks for evidence of repentance in our actions before he intervenes. Even though Solomon prayed on his knees with his hands raised toward heaven, his actions demonstrated his real priorities. Solomon spent seven years building the house of the LORD, “But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years” (1 Kings 7:1).

Prayer

In addition to being Israel’s king, Solomon was a spiritual leader of the people. His prayer of dedication was an important one because it was made “before all the congregation of Israel” (2 Chronicles 6:13). In order to be certain that everyone could see him, Solomon had a platform erected that was “five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high.” Then he, “kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven” (2 Chronicles 6:13). Most likely, Solomon wanted everyone to know that he worshipped the LORD like his father David had and would depend on God for guidance as he led the people.

Solomon’s prayer of dedication was quite long for a public prayer. He recounted many details of God’s covenant with Israel. The words recorded are probably a summary rather than an exact dictation of what he said. The entire prayer may have lasted as long as 30 – 60 minutes. For Solomon to be on his knees with his hands raised heavenward for that length of time was an excessive display of devotion. I doubt he could not have done it unless he was accustomed to praying in that posture.

It is likely that David taught Solomon how to pray and the two of them may have even prayed together. Solomon had a much different relationship with the LORD than his father David did, but it is clear that Solomon understood the importance and power of prayer.

No Secrets

I’m very glad that God doesn’t keep secrets from us about what he intends to do in our lives. The gift of prophecy is his way of letting us know what he knows about the future that is of concern to us. More than 20 years ago, I had a dream, I believe a prophetic dream, about my future. Although I didn’t understand everything the dream was communicating to me, I knew it was intended to be a guide that I could follow to assure me that God’s will was being carried out.

It is clear that Solomon was familiar with the books of Moses because most of the content of his prayer of dedication of the temple can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In particular, Solomon focused on prophecies that were given to Moses about Israel after they had settled in the Promised Land. The key issue in Solomon’s intercessory prayer was Israel’s repentance. He prayed to the LORD God of Israel:

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive…Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee. (I Kings 8:46-50)

It was no secret that the Israelites would go into captivity, therefore, Solomon prayed as if it had already happened and asked the LORD in advance to forgive them.

And

When God answered Solomon’s prayer for wisdom and knowledge, God did not just give him wisdom and knowledge, God gave Solomon wisdom, knowledge, and wealth.

And God said to Solomon, because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life, but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyselft that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. (2 Chronicles:11-12)

Typically, God only gives us what we ask for. It says in James 4:2, “ye have not, because ye ask not.” In general, we understand that we need to ask God for what we want, but in Solomon’s case, God gave Solomon something he didn’t ask for… and maybe didn’t want. It is not clear whether Solomon wanted wealth, but didn’t ask for it or God decided to give Solomon wealth even though or because he didn’t want it.

It’s hard to imagine that Solomon, or anyone else for that matter, would not want to be wealthy. It could have been that Solomon was not interested in material possessions, but more than likely, Solomon already had everything he wanted as far as material possessions go. King David was a rich man and probably gave his son everything he asked for. The one thing David couldn’t give his son was wisdom because wisdom only comes from God.

Prior to Solomon, people relied on casting lots to determine the will of God. It may not have occurred to them that they could possess wisdom and be able to discern the will of God without having to ask every time a new situation came up. Knowing the will of God was probably important to Solomon because he didn’t want to make mistakes like his father David had. King David’s affair with Bath-sheba and murder of her husband Uriah caused his family a great deal of pain and suffering. When Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin, he used a story of greed to depict David’s actions.

In spite of his youth, I believe Solomon was already a wise man when he asked God to give him wisdom and knowledge. Only a wise man would realize that wealth was not the answer to success. I think God gave Solomon wealth because God knew he was wise enough to not abuse it. Solomon was not concerned with impressing other people and was content with what he already had.

A perfect heart

David prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers…give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart” (1 Chronicles 29:18-19). David’s prayer for his son Solomon was a request for God to change Solomon’s heart so that he could rule over Israel effectively. The word translated perfect, shâlêm (shaw – lame´) means complete (8003) and is derived from a Hebrew word that “denotes perfection in the sense that a condition or action is complete” (7999).

What David was referring to was obedience and his intent was that Solomon would fulfill the law of God, that he would “keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes” (1 Chronicles 29:19) perfectly. In other words, David hoped that God would enable Solomon to live a perfect life.

God designed the human heart so that man could experience freedom. Our motives, feelings, affections, and desires drive us to act and we are able to learn from the outer world. The only way we can enter into a relationship with God and obey his commands is by choosing to do so. Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus had the freedom to choose to go to the cross or not. His prayer indicates that he did not want to, it was not Jesus’ desire to die for the sins of the world.

Although David thought it was possible for his son Solomon to live a perfect life, it was not Solomon, but Jesus that God gave a perfect heart to. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus declared, “Think not that I come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I come not to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). The Greek word translated fulfil means to finish or complete (4137).

While Jesus was hanging on the cross, he spoke several important last words, one of which was, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus spoke to several people while he was on the cross, but it is unclear to whom this particular message was directed. It could be that it was a universal message to all that were listening. We know that is was not directed to his Father because Jesus had already stated that God had forsaken him.

I think Jesus’ statement regarding completion was directed to all the believers he was dying for. As he hung on the cross, Jesus was aware of what it felt like to be rejected by God. For a brief period of time, Jesus was a sinner as well as a Savior. Jesus understood what David was longing for when he prayed that his son Solomon would have a perfect heart and Jesus answered David’s prayer with the words, “It is finished.”

He will answer

A personal testimony is a unique attestation to the truth of a particular scripture based on individual experience. When we share our testimony, we are validating God’s word. I can personally attest to the verse, “They called upon the LORD, and he answered them” (Psalm 99:6) because I have experienced it.

On the night I overdosed on sleeping pills, I called upon the LORD and he answered me. I said, “God, all I want to do is come and be with you in heaven and take care of the little babies there.” Immediately, I heard a voice, not my own, say, “Some day you will come and be with me, but until that time, I have much work for you to do where you are.”

My own experience validated the words found in Psalm 99:6, therefore, I believe they are true. This truth is what I would describe as a foundational truth. Much of the Bible is based on the fact that we are able to communicate with God. When we speak to God, he can hear us. He listens and he responds in an understandable way.

The purpose of a personal testimony is explained in Psalm 98:2. “The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.” When the LORD saves a person, he expects him to talk about it, but often times a person that has been saved doesn’t have to talk about it because people can see what God had done, “for he hath done marvelous things” (Psalm 98:1).

The word translated marvelous, pala’ means to “be beyond one’s power to do” (6381). On the night I overdosed on sleeping pills, I took two handfuls of pills and laid down to go to sleep. I listened to music for about half an hour. Just as I was about to fall asleep, knowing I would never wake up again, that I was about to die, I spoke to God for the first time in my life. I didn’t expect him to answer. The fact that he did answer could be a miracle, I don’t know if the same thing has ever happened to anyone else but, what I am certain of is that I am alive today because God kept me from dying. If he had not responded, I would have fallen asleep and never woke up.

It says in Acts 2:21, “and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I believe this verse is true, but I can’t personally attest to its validity. The word whosoever means everyone (3588, 3739, 3956). I can only say that I am one of the everyone and it is true for me.

Saint David

“For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13). The default destination of every person that dies is hell. The word translated hell in Psalm 86:13, “Sheol is the abode of the dead” (7585). In the time that David lived, “It was not understood to be a place of punishment, but simply the ultimate resting place of all mankind” (7585).

David’s exclamation about his soul being delivered from hell was probably due to his awareness that as a living , breathing creature, his soul longed to be in the presence of the LORD. In hell, David would be separated from God for all eternity.

In order to demonstrate the difference between being in the LORD’s presence and being separated from God, a tabernacle, or house of God was built, and an ark placed in it, so that the Israelites could experience heaven on earth. David said in Psalm 122, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1).

Today, the transition from earth to heaven or hell takes place instantaneously, the moment a person dies. That was not the case for David because the gates of heaven had not yet been opened to man when he died. David said, “thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13). The word delivered or nâtsal (naw – tsal´) in Hebrew means “to snatch away.” Natsal is also translated as escape, rescue and take out (5337). When David died, he went to hell like everyone else, but when Christ rose from the dead, David ascended into heaven with him.

Although David’s soul didn’t get taken to heaven until hundreds of years later, David’s deliverance was assured the moment he put his trust in God. David prayed, “Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee” (Psalm 86:2).

The word David used to describe himself, holy or chaciyd in Hebrew is typically translated as saint or saints “which must be understood in the sense of sanctification (dependent on grace), not moralistically [of native goodness]” (2623). The term saints is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe believers in Christ Jesus. In essence a saint is one who patterns his life after God. The word chaciyd is properly translated as kind (2623) and is derived from the word chacad which is “a practical exhibition of lovingkindness toward our fellowman” (2616).

It’s difficult to say if David’s experience with God was any different than Abraham’s or Moses’, but it appears that David clearly understood what it meant to be born again. It is possible that his repentance after killing Uriah did lead to a type of conversion and brought David into a right relationship with God, one that enabled him to behave like a saint.

A personal conversation

“And David the king came and sat down before the LORD, and said, who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (1 Chronicles 17:16). When David arrived at the place in life where all his hopes, dreams, and desires had been fulfilled, he sat down with the LORD and had a personal conversation.

The prayer of David that is recorded in both 2 Samuel 7:18-29 and 1 Chronicles 17:16-27 contains the personal name of God, LORD or YHWH, at least 10 times. David used the personal name of God as he poured out his heart to the creator of the universe. “The Tetragrammator YHWH appears without its own vowels, and its exact pronunciation is debated (Jehovah, Yehovah, Jahweh, Yahweh)” (3068). The personal name of God is derived from the word hâyâh (haw – yaw) which means to exist (1961). The literal translation of YHWH is self-Existent or Eternal (3068).

It would have been impossible for David to sit before the LORD from a physical standpoint. Most likely, David entered into the presence of the LORD through spiritual means and could have been experiencing a vision of the LORD sitting on his throne in Heaven. The point of saying that David came and sat before the LORD was to make it clear that David was not just reciting a prayer, but was having a personal conversation with Jehovah.

The importance of talking to God is more about belief than it is about communicating a message to God. God already knows what is in our hearts, he does not need us to tell him. What happens when we talk to him is that he is more real to us. We can feel his presence and know that he is listening when we say his name out loud.

The only way we know that God hears our prayers is that he answers them. In David’s situation, God spoke to him first and told David what he was going to do, then David responded and agreed with God’s will for his life. I think the reason God told David what he was going to do was to evoke a response from him. God wanted to know how David felt about it. David said, “And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant” (1 Chronicles 17:26).

God’s goodness can sometimes be overwhelming. Imagine that someone gave you the best present you had ever received or told you he was going to do something that would make you very happy. You would probably respond by telling the person how much it meant to you. That is what David did in a personal conversation with God.

A better life

If you looked up the meaning of every name in a family lineage in the Old Testament of the Bible, you would probably find that the names tell a story about the journey that the family has traversed. The family of Judah started with three sons; Er, Onan, and Shelah (Genesis 38:3-5). Judah’s first son, Er was so wicked the LORD slew him (Genesis 38:7). When Er died, it became Onan’s responsibility to produce a male heir for his brother’s wife. Onan’s refusal to fulfill his obligation caused him to be slain also.

Eventually, Judah impregnated his daughter-in-law, Tamar and produced twin sons, Pharez and Zarah.

And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

The name Zarah means to shoot forth or to appear (2224) and the name Pharez means to break out (6555).

Zarah is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles, Chapter 4 among the family of Judah, so it is possible he died childless like Er, but there is one man, Jabez who may have been his descendant. Jabez is not connected to any other relative of Judah and is given two verses to capture his biography in a list of names tied to Caleb, the first of Judah’s family to settle in the Promised Land.

And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that thou wouldest bless me in deed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.

The name Jabez means to grieve or be sorrowful (3258). Sometimes Jabez’s name is translated pain, which is another word for sorrow. Jabez was not satisfied with his life of pain and wanted to become great, so he prayed that God would bless him. As illogical as it may seem, most people do not believe that God wants to bless them and therefore, do not ask for his blessing. It is possible to change your life, but you first have to realize that only God can change the future and you must ask him to do it.

Changing the course of a family legacy is comparable to changing the course of a river. For years, perhaps decades or even centuries, water has been following the same course, traveling from mountain peaks to the oceans below along pathways that have been forged through rocks and debris. Dams and channels are necessary to overcome nature’s force.

Many people enjoy going with the flow. They do not want to rock the boat or cause any friction in family relationships. The problem with going with the flow is that you will end up at the same destination as your ancestors, which could be a life of pain and sorrow.

Jabez knew there was a problem that needed to be overcome in order for his life to be different. Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil, “that it may not grieve me” (1 Chronicles 4:10). Jabez understood that the reason he was grieved was because he was suffering the consequences of the evil that had become a part of his life. “One of the most marked features of the ungodly man is that his course is an injury both to himself and to everyone around him” (7451). It is likely that Jabez’s trouble was not a result of his own actions, but those of his family. He may have inherited his mother’s sorrow, but he did not have to keep it and pass it on to the next generation.