This chapter begins with Solomon dedicating the temple that he built for God according to the plans given to him by God. Everything on the outside was absolutely magnificent and brilliant and God responds to Solomon’s prayer and chooses this house as a place where He would respond to every prayer that would be prayed.

Today you and I- the New Testament believers are the temples of the living God where Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone in whom we are being built into a holy temple where the Spirit of God dwells (Eph.2:21-22). As temples of the living God, our main function is to be people of prayer. When Jesus walked on the earth, He was deeply moved to see His House of Prayer being made a den of robbers (Matt.21:13)

When Jesus looks into our lives what does He see? A people of prayer? If we don’t rise up to pray, who will? The world around us is in need of prayer. Broken homes, hurting lives, hopeless youth, calamity, chaos and corruption: our nations are in a desperate state. In Ezekiel 22:30 we read of Almighty God looking for one man who would build the wall and stand in the gap before Him on behalf of the land, and he finds none. Is it the same even today? Can we rise up to God’s call and become prayer warriors?

If you and I are willing to take this call, God expects us to follow his steps given in 2Chr 7:14   as we bend our knees before Him, so that He could hear and answer us from heaven. We need to turn from:

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• Self-righteousness to humility: In Micah 6:8, God calls us to walk before Him: humbly. The only way you and I can adorn a role of humility is when we yoke ourselves to Jesus who is gentle and humble and learn from Him (Matt.11:28). When we do this we will never give room for any selfish desires to direct our lives.
   

• Carnal prayers to spiritual prayers: In Jude 1:20 we are called to pray in the Holy Spirit. Jesus reminds us in Matt.6:7 that our vain repetitive babbling will not be heard by God. Paul in Eph.6:18 exhorts the believers to pray in the Spirit for He helps us in our weakness by pleading for us when we cannot find words (Rom.8:26).

 
Seeking man to seeking God: Psalm 27:8 states God’s desire for every man: to seek his face. He desires the same from us. Is He the one we run to at all times? In Col 3:1-2, Paul want us to set our hearts and minds on to God above and focus our attention and affection on to Him. Then he would call us as people of His own heart.


Wickedness to the Word: In Psalm 119:105 God’s word is compared to light that will dispel darkness in the lives of those who search the truth. This light searches deep into our hearts and reveals if we are harbouring roots of bitterness, anger , strife  and un-forgiveness in our hearts that hinder us from living a holy life before God. But when we make a conscious decision to walk in this light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from every sin (1John1:9).

If we would seek God in God’s way, then we in turn would see individuals and nations being healed in answer to our prayers. May we today take the call of God seriously and dedicate our lives to God to become ‘Houses of Prayer.’

 

Think on:

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God:

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

-1 John 5:14