The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 (day four)

The Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to see if all she had heard was true.  She had heard of the vast wisdom of Solomon and how God had poured out His blessing on Israel.  The report was so astounding she had to see for herself.  She was seeking answers.  What she found was that the report she had heard did not tell the half of it.  God had blessed Solomon and Israel beyond measure.

In the gospel accounts, the Queen of the South was referenced as a witness of the truth (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31).  Jesus cited her as an example or judge against the Pharisees who would not acknowledge Christ.  She recognized the glory of God without knowing Christ.  She traveled far and was richly rewarded for her diligent searching.

Does your life and witness point people to Jesus?  When people meet you, do they see God at work far beyond your abilities? The Pharisees recognized that Peter and John had understanding and wisdom and noted that they “had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13)…they just did not turn that recognition into relationship. Pray that your life will attract people from the ends of the earth and lead them to Christ!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 (day three)

“And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.”

How can someone fall from wisdom? The question arises in the first place because it’s easy to think of wisdom as a failsafe. Surely wisdom will warn a person when she or he is falling. But no such failsafe exists. Neither wisdom, nor intelligence, nor confidence, nor skill, nor knowledge – none will do the heavy lifting of living a life of good. For that, the will must act. It cannot outsource its responsibility to deliberate and to choose. It all comes down, again, to the will’s need to be transformed by Christ. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 (day two)

…because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness. vs. 8b

This is an incredible observation by someone outside the faith. The Queen of Sheba was amazed at all she saw and heard on her visit. It is interesting that she gives the credit for this, not to Solomon, but to God. This, of course, is where it belongs, but it is striking that it was so evident to someone not a part of the faith community. We are a credit-hungry people. We want others to notice our hard work, our good deeds, even our humility (think about that one for a minute). We should always be quick to remember that the Lord placed us in our seat of blessing. It should be so obvious that others can’t help but notice God’s hand in our lives. Reflect for a moment on where God has placed you, and how incredible his mercy has been towards you. Then say thanks.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day seven) 

What do you do when it feels like God isn’t hearing your prayers? What do you do when He feels far away? You may internally struggle with thoughts like, “I go to church. I go to Sunday School. I pray but nothing changes. I still don’t feel near to God. He isn’t hearing me.” Our passage of scripture helps answers that question directly: “Seek My face […] then I will hear” vs 14.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 (just after the heavily quoted verse 11) unpacks this thought more, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.”

What are you seeking with all your heart? What is the one thing that you just can’t seem to get your mind off of? If that answer is anything but God, it is going to make finding Him very difficult. God always hears us, but we often do not hear Him because we are seeking other things. Seek His face.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day six)

Then if my people who are called by my name… 2 Chronicles 7:14

These words were written to a people newly returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. They had lived through the consequences of previous generations’ rebellion against God. (Vs. 19-22) They had to be struggling with who they were and whose they were. Much like the prodigal son, they likely couldn’t imagine being received as my people; servants or slaves maybe, but surely not sons and daughters.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to hear those words for the first time, a promise given to King Solomon-if MY people? While they had deserved God’s judgement, they were not forgotten or forsaken! God had made a way for his people to return to him, and just like the father of the prodigal son he was longing and waiting and running to receive them.

 

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day five)  “As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My ordinances,”

There is a “corporate” facet to the Christian life. God addresses a people. A nation. A body. But there is also (more importantly) a very personal and intimate facet to the Christian life. I must trust. I must follow. I must repent and believe. I have a friendship and relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In the Christian faith, there are no “coattails”or “grandfather clauses”. Each of us is accountable and responsible for our faith and for our growth.   Just as the Lord spoke to Solomon, He speaks to each of us- “As for you…”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day four)

God’s promises and warnings throughout history have always been predicated on man’s response to Him.  Blessing would follow obedience, curse would follow disobedience.  In the Garden of Eden, on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, now with Solomon…blessing will follow relationship, judgment will follow sin.

What story will history tell of America?  One nation under God…a nation founded upon a relationship with the Creator God…they were blessed for many generations.  Not only was America blessed, but other nations were blessed by them.  But the nation turned away from God!  Judgment and discipline were pronounced upon the nation.  Prayer was removed from the schools and public forums, obedience to the Word of God was shunned and ridiculed, worship was discouraged and honor was refused God.

Do we really believe that we can ignore Almighty God and not pay the consequences?  …and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day three)

“…therefore he has brought all this adversity on them.”

There is adversity that arises no matter how we live. But there is also adversity that comes when we will do what we know to be unrighteous. The statutes of God give us a window into the life of heaven – ordering ourselves to God’s authority, looking after one another’s good, keeping our word to those around us, caring for our families, ceasing our labor, cultivating generosity, acknowledging the sacredness of human life. When we depart from these things, we will bring about – in ourselves and in others – heartache, misery, regret, abandonment, pain. It takes time, but we begin to heal the wounds in ourselves and others when we come back to the statutes from which we strayed. With God, there is a way back home.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day two) 

and My people who are called by My name…vs. 14a

I don’t remember the exact way that he used to phrase it, but I certainly remember what he meant. Whenever I would go on field trip, or to a camp, or just out with a group my dad would say things like: remember where you’re from, act like you should, and remember…you’re a Hufty. My actions, whether I wanted to accept it or not, were a reflection on my family. In a small town, that meant something. We weren’t Kennedys, Rockefellers, or Bushes, but my character was inevitably tied to my family name. Do you see how profound that is? God doesn’t just say if my people humble themselves. That would be something, wouldn’t it? We speak in terms of my team, or my ministry, or my country and we do so with affection and endearment. There are many things that bind those groups together, but God takes it a step further. He says, if my people who are called by my name…We have been grafted into a family whose head is the creator of the universe. That carries a different weight and authority altogether. Remember today that you bear the name of the LORD.