Standing In the Gap
Opening Prayer
Jesus, thank You that You are our King who stands and intercedes for us.
Read 1 Kings 8:22-30
[22] Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven [23] and said: “LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below-you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. [24] You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it-as it is today. [25] “Now LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ [26] And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. [27] “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! [28] Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. [29] 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. [30] 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. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Where do you put your hope when you are in need?We’re still with Solomon and the people of Israel in the Temple on the day of its dedication, but now the king turns from recounting what has happened to praying for his people.Imagine you were reading this in exile, in Babylon, many generations later. That is probably when 1 and 2 Kings were compiled. What would strike you about Solomon’s prayer? First would be the fact that on the very day that the Temple was dedicated, the king affirmed that God could not be confined to one place (27). Heaven is his true dwelling place (30). In exile, that would assure you that even though the Temple had been destroyed, prayer was still possible. God was still there for his people, to respond to their prayers. Second, Solomon’s prayer reminds you that the Lord is always ready to forgive (30). His forgiveness is available to all his people. The exile need not be the end. Where the Lord is, there is hope.
Apply
As a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), we, too, have a responsibility to “stand in the gap.” Be faithful to intercede.
Closing prayer
Thank You, Lord, that because I come in the name of Jesus, I can stand before You on behalf of those who need You.
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