Today’s passage: 1 Kings 8:22-53
Helpful thoughts:
- This prayer of dedication begins by praising God for His attributes and then making requests according to God’s attributes.
- The prayer is also a reminder of the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 27-28.
- Solomon understood that God had condescended to graciously grant Israel this showing of His presence. The false religions desire to impress their gods and compel them to act. God is above that.
- What a blessing to know that the God who transcends all our comprehension draws near, is accessible, and desires relationship with His children!
- Verses 41-43 evidence that Israel was aware of their role in the world…to point people to the true God.
Questions to consider:
- What can we learn about Solomon and Israel’s understanding of God in this prayer? What are we reminded of about God?
- How is it helpful to remember that Solomon is both praying for God’s people and praying for an actual country (Israel)? How would prayer for a country vary from a prayer for a church? How could this cause some confusion if we forget that the United States is not to be equated with Israel?
- Why would it make sense that false religions (Invented by men) come back to the performance of the person worshiping? How is Christianity different? Who is all of creation ultimately for (Colossians 1:16)? How does this support the fact that salvation is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-10)?