1 Kings 8 (Part 2) Bible Study (Solomon's Prayer of Dedication/Sacrifices) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

But we do thank you from the bottom of our hearts that we are able to gather as students of your word. And, Lord, we know that apart from the Holy Spirit's power, the transmission of truth cannot go very far. And so we ask with humility and great, desire that there would be an unusual power, a power to deliver this teaching, a power to receive it, more importantly, a power to apply it in our lives. So, Lord, we just ask that this truth that we will study in this chapter will bleed into practical Christian living. Destroy all hesitation to obey.

Destroy all distraction. Destroy all bondage, Lord. And may we come out of this session together more alive in Christ than when we entered in. We ask these things believing in the inheritance that we've received in Christ Jesus, the blessed gift of God, the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, we pray.

Amen. Amen. First Kings chapter eight. Meet me there in verse 22. The Bible throughout from Genesis to Revelation testifies of men and women of prayer.

We read of God, the God of heaven and earth answering prayer. We learn of different types of prayer. We even, as Christians, are exhorted by God through the Holy Spirit, through the vessels of apostles to pray, to be prayerful, to make it a practice and a constant unbreakable attitude of ours to be in a place of constant dependence on the Lord in this thing called prayer. And with all of that, the Holy Spirit in his wisdom has preserved for us actual prayers by certain saints in holy writ for us to look at and examine and to be edified by. And what you and I have before us tonight is one of the greatest prayers in all of the Bible.

In that, it is one of the longest prayers recorded in the Bible. The prayer that you and I are going to examine carefully is that of Solomon. Solomon who prayed at the dedication of the temple in the presence of God's people with great humility and precision. And the beautiful thing about this prayer is far more than the fact that it is a very lengthy petition. What you and I are going to be blessed by in this account of prayer is is through a detail that is mentioned in a parallel account to the scene in first Kings chapter eight.

So I told you to to turn there first Kings eight, but go to the mirroring account in first Chronicles or second Chronicles rather chapter seven and verse one. This is how we should frame our time in studying the supplication made by this king. In second Chronicles seven one, this is a detail that's not mentioned in first Kings chapter eight, but it's worth highlighting. Here's what we read. As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

What happened as soon as Solomon finished praying? There was a supernatural manifestation of God's approval of what was prayed for. What do we make of this verse? Very simply put, God accepted Solomon's request. And why we should know that at the outset of this study is so that you and I can frame our investigation of this text in a way where we realize that we're looking at the words of a man who moved the heart of God.

We're looking at the words of a man who uttered things toward heaven, and God approved and was pleased to make his acceptance clear and known. And that's good for us to know because it's one thing to pray. It's one thing to pray. It's another thing to pray and know that God hears. It's one thing to pray and know that God hears and be confident that God can and will answer.

We're not merely going to look at this prayer to try to figure out the most favorable and preferable method of prayer, though there are some ingredients found here that can help us be more effective in that area. More than that, there are several requests that Solomon makes in this one prayer. There are several petitions that he offers to the Lord that are worth looking at in greater detail. Because when we look at these requests, what we're essentially seeing is the type of requests God is willing to hear and work with and move for. And though there are several of them, I want to group them in five, the number five.

I want us to take a majority of this study tonight to look at five scenarios, five cases, five types of prayer that God is willing to answer. It's not limited to these five, of course, but these are five that are concerning to Solomon, and they should be a source of comfort for for us who might need consolation in the very areas that we're going to underscore. But before we look at this list of things that God is willing to bend his ear for and actually extend his hand to move for, we wanna look at some truths leading up to that. And so let's read the first eight verses together and then break down our thoughts in three p's. I want you to see that there's gonna be three p's that will be beneficial for us.

One p is gonna be the posture. The second p is going to be the praise. And the last p is going to be the power of promise, or you can just summarize it with promise. Are you ready? Ready or not?

Verse 22. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven and said, oh, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. You have kept with your servant David, my father, what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, oh, lord, god of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have promised him saying, you shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel.

If only your sons pay close attention to their way to walk before me as you have walked before me. Now therefore, oh, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built?

Yet I have regard to the prayer of your servant to his plea and to his plea, oh lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house. The place of which you have said my name shall be there that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place and listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place, and listen in heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear for gift. Consider with me tonight the posture of Solomon. Verse 22, the Holy Spirit sees it necessary for us to get a physical description of the expression of this man's prayer. What did he do before he uttered a word?

Well, we read that he stood. He stood, and he stretched out his hands toward heaven. That's an interesting note because this is something clearly that we should know about. And it's not to teach that there is one mode of prayer because there are several. There are many, many expressions of humility and brokenness and supplication before God.

And so we cannot make a case that there is a better way to pray, that there is a more honorable way to pray, though there are perhaps creative ways of being dishonorable in how we pray. But one thing that we can take comfort in is that this is not prescriptive, this is descriptive. And the scripture doesn't go to great lengths to tell us how we should bend our bodies or lay out or do what we need to do with our physical posture in order to get a better signal with God in our praying. In fact, anybody that would make a case that there is one way to pray has a great problem if they take the instruction of Paul seriously when he said pray without ceasing. How am I supposed to pray without ceasing if there's one specific posture that I must maintain?

Paul calls for an unceasing attitude of dependence on God, which then necessitates that what? I I have to, at all times, in my car, as I'm at work, as I'm walking, remain in a place of prayer, and God will honor that prayer despite what's happening with my legs or my chin or my hands. If we can take anything from this, it is that, it would be a challenge for those who would say that there is only one way to pray. What generally happens when a pastor or leader or even the head of a house calls for a people to seek the Lord briefly and inquire of him? What's the reflex?

What do people do? Isn't that what happens? They they they fold their hands, and they bend their face or they bow their head, and they close their eyes. Correct? You will not find that posture once in all of the bible.

Ain't that funny? In all this in all this scripture, you will not see an example of somebody bowing their head, closing their eyes, and folding their hands to inquire of god. That's not to say it's wrong. That's not to say it's wrong. But it should cause people who are critical to be reserved from looking at others who pray differently and to say that's that's not the way you should pray.

Even the Lord Jesus himself, what did he do in John 17? He lifted up his eyes toward heaven, and he kept his eyes open when he prayed. And so we read of people who lay prostrate. We leave people who sit. We we read of people who sit.

We lead we read of people who do many, many different things in the place of prayer. And what's more important to God is the heart posture. More than anything else, I wasn't planning to go to this text, but here's a text in the New Testament that calls for instruction of how corporate prayer should look like in first Timothy two eight. And what does Paul say that he calls for men everywhere to pray, and then what's following that thought? Lifting what?

Not just hands. Holy hands. Holy hands. So one, that's an instruction for how men this is remember, this is the order of worship in the corporate sense. Men should be leading meetings.

Right? But with that, we're told that what should happen when the church prays. Now it's not to say women can't pray. You read first Corinthians 11, they are called to pray in in the corporate sense as well. Holy hands.

Paul's not speaking here more about what we should do with our hands, but with what our hands symbolize, our daily interactions and our daily living and activities. Those hands should be and must be holy. Holy. And that's what makes prayer effective. It's the holiness of the hands more than the hands being stretched out.

And when we come to first Kings eight, we do see the physical posture of Solomon, which can express reverence and honor toward the Lord, but there is an emphasis about his heart posture more than his physical posture. Come back to chapter eight and notice it with me. Look here at verse 28 of first Kings eight. Notice how he references himself. You have regard to the prayer of who?

Your servant and to his plea, oh lord my God, listening to the cry to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day. Here's the king of the nation, willingly and joyfully calling himself in the presence of God, I'm your servant. I'm not in my prayer bossing you around. I'm not commanding you to do anything. I'm here coming empty handed asking if you would be good to answer these prayers, and you are good.

That's why I'm coming to you in prayer. So posture. Posture. Physical posture is mentioned. Heart posture is emphasized.

And if you are a person who's caught up with how things should look, do not be critical of those who do lift their hands and worship as people sing. I praise God that's not the case here. Who would feel the necessity to bend their knee before God. Any of those expressions are totally acceptable as long as they're not distracting. But then we come to praise.

What's the first thing that Solomon does? What does he do to crack the seal of his supplication? He adores the Lord. Look here again at verse 23 and said, oh, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath. So before he asks for anything, he adorns the Lord, his God, with his praises.

He declares his goodness. He declares his uniqueness. He declares that he is incomparable to any other deity or thing. And what's so amazing about this is is though there isn't again this one formula, this one order of how we should pray, God God invites us to be, at liberty in how we express ourselves. At the same time, there is wisdom to glean from this.

I find that adoration does more than honor God. Let me tell you this. Adoration is very foreign to people's prayer lives. So this is so so key in understanding. Adoration does more than just honor God.

I find that adoration, both in practice and through principle in the word of God, awakens faith. Adoration awakens faith. And you try this next time you're in a rut in your prayers. You praise the Lord and and realize that in praising him with your mind, with your heart, with with thoughtfulness in your words, with an understanding of who God is in the word of God, and what will begin to take place is there's a sobriety that overcomes you. There's a power that begins to position you to understand the honor of being in that moment.

If I find myself getting distracted with tasks or intrusive thoughts, I pause and I tend to think about who I am speaking to. And it doesn't take very long before I realize what an honor it is to be speaking to this God. What a privilege it is to be in the courts of this king. And so when we praise, it stimulates reverence and it excites your faith. When you consider who God is, when you consider what he is able to do, his character and his capabilities, you will be rescued from a passionless prayer life.

And so we see here that Solomon praises the Lord, and then he goes from praise to another thing that really will help us in our seeking of God, and that's tapping into the promises of God. Notice what he does here in verse 25. Now therefore, oh lord, god of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying you shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel. If only your sons pay pay close attention to their way to walk before me as you have walked before me. Look at verse 26.

Now therefore, oh god of Israel, let your word be confirmed. So he's saying it again in a different way. Verse 25. Now therefore, oh Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant what you promised him. Verse 26.

Let your word be confirmed. The courage that Solomon had to approach the Lord in this way was because he had to grasp what God had said, what God had done in the past. That was what gave him the boldness to come before the Lord in this way. And that's important because you know how most people view prayer? They view prayer as a way of trying to persuade a reluctant God to do something on their behalf.

Alright. Let's see if God is in a better mood today. Lord, I'm gonna stay a little bit longer in prayer, and hopefully this will convince you that I'm worthy to receive the answers to my request. And you know how the Bible presents prayer? Bible presents prayer in the following way.

It's really a response to an invitation that God already gave you to tap into and to access the rewards and the blessings that he wants to pour out on your life. If you see it that way, it makes prayer much more exciting, does it not? God had said some things, and he had given you a key to unlock it, and that key is called prayer. And so as you come to the Lord, you're coming based on something that he had said, and then you're connecting that promise with faith, trusting that the lord will unlock it and provide it for you at the right time. That's what prayer should look like.

As much as we are invoking the lord, we're also responding to an invitation that he gave in his word. So don't drag your feet to pray when you realize that there is a wealth, there is a treasure waiting to be discovered if you just believe it. And so this this king here is asking, lord, with specific promises, lord, would you do what you said? Can I ask you a question? When you read the Bible, does it in any way stimulate you to be more prayerful?

If you're a consistent student of the word of God, I will make a very bold claim. It should make you more of a prayerful person. If not, maybe you're not studying the Bible right. Because if what you're hearing even at Bible study, what you're hearing on Sundays does not cause you to be drawn to a a personal place of communion with the Lord, You're not hearing it right. You know, one of the prayers of any person who preaches the word of God should be this.

This would be my this would be my my counsel, that whatever subject you are declaring, let the goal be this, that it would draw people closer to the lord Jesus. No matter what it is, even if you're talking through Leviticus, let the word cause people to want closer communion with him, a deeper intimacy with him. And if the word is not drawing you toward that place, maybe you're on the quest for knowledge more than intimacy with the Lord, and there's a big difference. You can tell when somebody has Bible knowledge but doesn't have the knowledge of God's presence in their lives, and it's a sad sight to me. It's a sad sight to me.

So we talk about these three p's. There's posture. There is praise. There is the power of promise. But now we come to five types of prayer that God is willing to hear.

And they're categorized in these requests, but let's let's put them under these five headings. If you're taking notes based on what Solomon asked for, the first thing that we could be confident in knowing that God is willing to hear is that he's willing to hear and help with difficult, almost impossible matters. Let's read here in verse 31. And depending on what kind of Bible you have, you'll even see how these requests are separated by the way they designed the the format of the text. Look at verse 31.

If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness. Here's what Solomon has as a primary concern, justice in the land. And he realizes that what's going to follow naturally are disputes, problems, conflict, relational problems, accusations. He's already dealt with some, and he's planning to see more. And so he asked the Lord for something very specific because Solomon's aware that there are even some predicaments that are void of eyewitnesses.

They were done in private. They were done in secret. They were done without public knowledge. And so what that would demand at this time was that when there was an accusation made against a brother, that brother was called to appear before the temple, before the altar, and make an oath. And to make an oath in that setting was far more than for him to have his conscience pricked like how what we see in our courts today where people put their hands on the Bible to make them feel the holiness of that moment.

It's far more than that. What we're guaranteed here based on this prayer, based on what Solomon's asking the Lord is that when this would happen, god would supernaturally expose the wrongdoer, and he would confirm the innocent. How that happened, we are not told. Perhaps the strongest clue we have is through the Urim and the Thummim of the priest where there would be something revealed to the leadership that would expose the guilty and would confirm the innocent. And so Solomon asked the lord when these situations come about, where it's humanly impossible to find out who's right and who's wrong, would you would you make it known?

You know what I find so fascinating about what Solomon is asking here? This is a man who just a few chapters ago solved a humanly impossible situation. Remember when two prostitutes came before him, both claiming the life of one child, both blaming that they are the ones who are lying. Remember that? And Solomon had wisdom from God to discern who was in the right and who was in the wrong.

And this kind of man who is praised with such heavenly wisdom sees the need to ask god to do what only he can do. Well, Solomon, you were able to do it, but here's what Solomon believed. No matter what kind of mind god gave me, I still need god. Yeah? No matter what kind of gifting he has provided me, I still am in need moment by moment, day by day, case by case, I need the Lord to intervene.

I need the Lord to intervene. I I can't depend on my strength. I can't depend on my history. I can't depend on my track record. I can only depend upon the Lord providing my daily bread and doing what only he can do.

I realize that even this mind is given by God. And if he doesn't sustain it, he gave it, but if he doesn't sustain it, then I will never know true success. God has started many things, but because of people's pride, the thing that God started wasn't sustained. God can start a church miraculously, but if the leadership and the people are not remaining humble and dependent on God, God will shut that church down. He has no problem.

He's not concerned about his reputation in that sense. He's not concerned about what people will say. He's concerned about his name, and he's concerned about his people walking his ways more than anything else. And when they veer off, he's willing to make it very clear that he's not pleased. But here's Solomon at this juncture of his life realizing, god, if you don't do it, it's not gonna happen.

So what's the principle behind this? What is Solomon asking? What is prayer able to unlock? Well, it's able to unvault heavenly wisdom. Is it not?

It's able to reveal what is hidden in the dark, bringing it to light. It's able to dismantle the deceptive schemes of man. Satan will have a very difficult time. Those who have footholds in their lives for Satan work through will have a very difficult time taking advantage of prayerful people. You do not know what you're up against, my friend, when you try to come against a saint of God, a man or a woman who's in tune with God in prayer.

You have no idea what you're messing with. Why? Because a man who seeks the Lord in humility and walks in conscious obedience to him has God on his side. And we talked about this a couple weeks ago in Joshua chapter nine in our prayer meeting that Joshua and the Israelites of that generation entered into the promised land. They had a promise.

They had God's presence to some extent. But in that particular case, when the Gibeonites came and deceived them thinking that they were from a faraway land, when in fact they were inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they did not. The scripture says in Joshua and I, they did not inquire of the Lord, and they were deceived. That's the reason why they were overcome by the lies of the enemy because they did not pause to look at the all the elements and all the presentation, say, Lord, is this of you? Implying that if they had prayed, they would have been rescued from deception.

The schemes and the trickery of Satan. And so Solomon says here, lord, I'm praying because I believe that in and through this prayer, you're willing to answer and keep us from being overcome by deception, by lies, by doing something unjust, by doing something that is missing the mark. Prayer that God is willing to hear is one that he's able to help with concerning matters that seem impossible or difficult. But it's more than that. We come here and we read what?

What's next? Look at verse 33. When your people are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people, Israel, and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers. Highlight that. When your people Israel defeated before the enemy.

But look here at verse 35. This is the same thought. When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you. If they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk. Look here at verse 37.

If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, or blight, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at the gates at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is. Okay. So it seems long winded, but it fits under one category. Solomon now begins to describe the potential consequences of unrepentant sin and continual rebellion. And he knows the word of God very well because Deuteronomy and Leviticus spell out the exact acts of discipline that will ensue from the nation who choose to turn their back on God.

And what Solomon has in mind here is that God would answer the prayers of those who are enduring the chastisement for their trespass. And so here's the second type of prayer that God is willing to hear and answer. God is willing to hear and answer those who pray as they endure the consequences of their sin. Why is that important? Because for many people, sin as they pursue it, feel hopeless especially when they are faced with the consequences of their actions.

Some consequences are more severe than others, but sometimes those consequences can be so intense and life altering that in enduring that, they think to themselves and believe, perhaps I've been cut off from God's mercy altogether. This is it. I can't see how moving forward from this place, I can have God's full favor again, his full pleasure over my life again. I am forever scarred with the consequence of the sin. I can never undo what my sin has done.

And Solomon here begins to describe the different kind of scenarios that sin can lead the people into, but with every scenario, he asked the lord to be able to hear them if they, in that moment, come to their senses, cry out to god, say, oh god, please forgive me. Please restore me. God is willing to hear the prayer of those who have gone so far away from him, so deep in darkness, so contrary to the convictions that they once held to, if they pause and pray and look to the Lord, Solomon here, by wave principle, teaches us that God is willing to say, I hear you, and I will do something about your predicament. What kind of sin? Notice again look here at the end of verse 37.

He says here, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, there is no category of wrongdoing regardless of what kind of judgment it invites into your life that god's grace is unavailable for. There's not one single think about that. Think about how significant that is. And all that is required to reach god in restoration is a contrite heart. Right?

Notice what Solomon says here in verse 38. Whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by your people, all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands towards his house. You know, he didn't say just stretching out his hands toward his house. He could have said that. Lord, if you see anybody stretching out their hand towards his house, hear them.

But what does he what does he follow it up with? What's preceding that rather? Says here, if they know the affliction in their heart. It's not about some external thing that God has to see. You've been coming to church ten weeks in a row.

I think I'll take you out of the penalty box now. That's not how God works. No. It's it begins internally. It's the heart that's broken and contrite.

That is what is required for the Lord to move favorably again in your life. When you realize this is the mess that this is the offense that I have brought about to the name of God, And then when God sees that, he's willing to do miracles in your life again, and bring reversal to the mess that you brought into your life again. And Solomon here shows that there's still hope. And prayer is still something that can be utilized even when you don't deserve it because of your performance lately. So what happens?

He says here, please hear them. Look at verse 39 very quickly. This is just a side note worth mentioning. Then here in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know according to all his ways. Look what's in parenthesis here.

For you, you only know the hearts of all the children of mankind, that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers. Who's Solomon praying to? Who's he praying to? God. What's his name?

Yahweh. And what prerogative, what exclusive ability does he pin on Yahweh and Yahweh alone? For you, you only what? Know the hearts of all the children of mankind. That only belongs to only Yahweh can scan the hearts of all the inhabitants of the lands, the nations, the cities, the streets, and the neighborhoods, and be able to perfectly interpret what's going on in their hearts.

That's powerful. What said of Jesus? Let me remind you in Revelation two, as Jesus speaks through John to a particular church, and he mentions this in verse 23 concerning Christ. In Revelation two twenty three, as a warning to them who thought that they can live in sin, we're told that Christ in his love for his church says the following in Revelation two twenty three, and I will strike her children dead, speaking of Jezebel and the church, the spirit of Jezebel and the church. And all the churches will know look what Jesus says.

I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each one of you according to your works. So Christ claims to be able to do what only Yahweh is able to do, and that's search the hearts and minds of men and be able to give the specific reward or punishment in accordance with the cleanliness or the corruption in that heart. If you want another verse to add to your arsenal, it's Jeremiah seventeen ten. Notice what's said about the Lord. Again, Yahweh in Jeremiah seventeen ten, and and connect that with how Christ is spoken of, and how Christ speaks of himself in the New Testament.

Here's Jeremiah seventeen ten. I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. Isn't that what he said to the church? He said it. Let me read it to you again.

I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. Well, Yahweh said that in Jeremiah. Solomon said that that belongs to the lord alone, and Jesus comes and says, I can do that. Why? Because Jesus is Yahweh.

That's why. Just a side note. So we see here that Solomon believed that god will hear prayer of those who endure the consequences of sin, but that that's that's not it. Number three. Let's come again back to first Kings eight.

Look at verse 41. Likewise, when a foreigner, Solomon says, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your namesake, for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand and of your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner caused you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. So now Solomon zooms from his people from the people of Israel, zooms out and considers the alien. Not extraterrestrial aliens.

Foreigners in neighboring nations who worship heathen gods, but at some point come to their senses and realize that's the true God, and I wanna know this God. I wanna pray to this God. And so Solomon now is very much in tune with the heart of God. He he knows God's word enough to realize that God has a heart for the Gentiles even here. God has a heart for the neighboring nations.

Don't get into this false notion that Jesus in the New Testament introduces grace for the Gentiles. Whereas God in the Old Testament was hesitant and it wasn't in his mind. God always had the Gentiles in mind. In electing the nation of Israel, making a covenant with them, that covenant with Israel was not an end in itself. It was a means to a different end.

Israel was raised up to be a nation. Yes. God and his sovereignty has the right to choose any nation and to deal especially with that nation. But we see in this book that God, through the election of Israel, wanted to bless all the families of the earth. And he wanted this house even in the old covenant to be a house of prayer for what?

All peoples, all nations. You read about Jesus in Isaiah 49, where we're told of the servant of the Lord that it was too light of a thing to redeem Jacob alone. I will make you a light to the nations. And you will go and you will redeem the the coastlands and everybody else across the world. So we see, this is why you need to know the Old Testament.

And the more you study and the more you you learn about it, the more you realize that there is a consistent thread with the character nature and the will of God. You think about the black Hebrew Israelites. Have you seen these guys on the streets? Yeah. Okay.

So you know who I'm talking about. If not, I encourage you not to Google them. You might run into them if you walk in any major city long enough down the downtown or something. These guys believe that, one, they are the true nation of Israel, that they are the true people of God. And in their theology, their cult, in their theology, they totally deny that God has any favorable will for the Gentiles.

So So what do you do as a Christian when you meet these kind of people who believe these things? And and by the way, it's getting greater popularity, especially for African Americans and those, from that background. What do you do when you're confronted with that and they quote scripture about how Gentiles will bow before the Jews and how Israel will rise above all their nations? What do you you need to know your Hebrew scriptures. You need to show from the Hebrew scriptures.

They'll deny the New Testament. Show from the Hebrew scriptures. This is what the God of the nation of Israel, the true nation of Israel, has in mind for gentiles, not just for that people. So Solomon had the mind of God in this, and this is the request that he makes. So what's the principle here?

Here's point number three of the kind of prayers that God is willing to hear. God is willing to hear any man who comes to him. God is willing to hear any man who comes to him. That's the truth from this request. And this shows that the Lord does not discriminate based on personal history, current status, spiritual heritage, or any other measure that may might make us as humans, even dear Christians, to look at somebody and to evaluate through human standards whether or not they are worthy enough to be used by God in a special way, to be heard by God favorably.

How do you modernize that? Well, you have some people, honestly, who might think, you know, the descendant of a Christian family will receive God's favor more than a guy like me who escaped from a heathen family and decided to align myself with the truth. Because who am I in comparison to somebody who has that kind of background? That might not mean much to you, the point that I'm presenting to you, because most of us in here grew up in the church. Most of us, not all of us.

But I'm telling you, what I'm saying, I'm sure will bring great comfort and joy to the person who has a criminal record, person who's been raised by parents who were involved in witchcraft and taught their kids to blaspheme the true god. God is willing to, if you just simply humble yourself and acknowledge him as the true god, receive you, hear you. And in this case, Solomon, I'm sure, blew some people's minds who are unfamiliar with the heart of God. Psalm is actually asking God to do something of blessing those who are not in covenant by way of inheritance. Wow.

Wow. And so no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you've done, if you're washing the blood, you're no greater than the greatest saints that the church has ever known. You have same access to God. You have the same privilege and promises to you. And this is what Solomon is asking the Lord to do knowing that the Lord was somebody who is willing to answer it.

Number four, the fourth kind of prayer that God is willing to hear and answer. God is willing to hear us as we face adversity and danger. Notice what's said in verse 44, the situation, the circumstance that Solomon presents. If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, that's an important thing to highlight. Even at this time, whenever Israel was engaged in war, it had to be commanded by God.

They didn't have the freedom to go and lay siege of different lands and bring conquest into they did not have that kind of right. So that's an important text to make note of. If your people go out to battle against their enemy by whatever way you shall send them, it has to be divinely ordained. So keep that in mind when people criticize the God of the Old Testament as being genocidal. Keep that in mind for the idea that the people of God who, in the old testament did engage in wars were not doing so with liberty and with subjective reasonings.

They took it from a righteous and holy god who knew when to attack and when to bring about discipline to a people who deserve it. By whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea and maintain their cause. So now Psalm has something in mind. Even when our army is out in battle and they are at a great distance from the house of God, Lord, would you consider their request as they turn their face toward the house of worship and implore and inquire for your intervention? Prayer brings assistance to us in adversity and in the face of many dangers.

And what I love about what Solomon is saying here is that he himself, even as a military leader, as a king, did not believe that human, you know, resources and abilities where salvation comes from. No matter what kind of thing you got going on, no matter what kind of network you have, no matter what kind of connections, deliverance is of the Lord. Solution comes from the sovereign God. The best results come from the one who can only do the best possible outcome in any given situation. And this is what Solomon is asking for.

Lord, even with our army, we don't put our trust in the arm of the flesh. We're asking even in this very physical reality, would you intervene and make a way? And the principle, we're not called to any holy war. We're not called to engage in any physical battle. Our our battle is not against flesh and blood.

Here's the principle. No matter what kind because we do have an enemy and there is warfare. And no matter what kind of situation presents itself against you, you can pray and believe that God will find the best way to give you victory in it. The best way. The praying man is at an advantage.

I said earlier that Satan is at a greater disadvantage when he's up against a praying woman, a praying man, a praying mom, a praying father, a praying church. So let me flip it. You are at a great the greatest advantage when you know how to call upon the Lord in everything and for all things. May I remind you of Ahithophel, when it was told to David while he was in exile, this man whose words were like the oracles of God has chosen to divorce himself from you, David, and line up with your rebellious son, Absalom. Humansly speaking, David would have been finished.

And one of my favorite prayers in all of the Bible is what prayer what prayer David prayed in that moment when he learned we're in trouble. What did he do? He sighed in prayer. Oh, lord, turn the wisdom of Ahithophel into what? Foolishness.

Foolishness. Did God answer that prayer? He did answer that prayer. Whatever was presented to Absalom was rejected by Absalom, and God did even more than what prayer what David prayed for. Ahithophel was eliminated as a threat for the rest of David's life.

You know what that teaches? Let me remind you from that bible study. That teaches that a man of prayer is at a greater advantage than the most brilliant mind. That's what that teaches. The man of prayer, the woman of prayer is at a greater advantage than the strongest man, the richest man, the smartest man.

When god finds a man who is praying, he is the strongest. And this is what Solomon believed even with his standing army. Lord, if it's if it ever comes to the point that this would happen, please hear our prayers and the prayers of your people when they call upon you. And we read of stories in Kings where certain kings believe that Hezekiah. Right?

Asa, where they asked the Lord, the Lord came through and bring brought about victory, and it is rooted in this. Lastly, what kind of prayers is God willing to answer? What kind of things is God willing to do in prayer? God is willing to hear the prayer of one man on behalf of so many others. You're not gonna see that based on what I'm about to read, but you will in a moment.

This is the longest portion of Dave or rather Solomon's petition in this one prayer. It's from verse 46 down to verse 53. I'm not going to read all of it, but let me read the first few. If they sin against you so now he revisits this idea of sin. Solomon seems to be very concerned of the future spiritual state of the nation of Israel.

And here's why. Look what he says. For there is no one who does not sin. He's aware of human frailty and faithlessness. And you are angry with them and give them to an enemy so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors saying, we have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly, if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies who carried them captive and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name.

We'll stop there. So the the situation that Solomon has in mind because he already talked about the consequence of sin. Now he speaks about the worst of the worst outcomes, exile. You couldn't get any lower than that as the people of God because this land was promised. There was so much promise of security and longevity for generations to come.

But Solomon understood that there was there was a time that could come where the people could so sin against God and so wear out his patience. The Lord says, I'm bringing a nation. You're out of here. And this is what Solomon asked. Lord, even in the land of their captors, whatever generation that might happen in, even in the land of captivity, would you hear their prayers if they turn their face toward Jerusalem and implore and seek you with a repentant heart?

Question. Do you ever see in the Old Testament a situation, whether that be the Assyrian exile that took over the North or the Babylonian exile that took over the South, where the nation of Israel cried out to the Lord in this way while they were in exile. You got it. Did you hear it? You'd be hard pressed to find a national movement during captivity where the people as a whole or at least a large population remember the words of Solomon and cried out in order to be restored to their home.

But he speaks about them in the plural, does he not? If they turn their heart, verse 47. Verse 48, if they repent with all their mind. The only instance that you see of a fulfillment of this is with one man. Who's that man?

You heard it. Daniel. Go to that chapter very quickly. We're almost done here. Daniel chapter nine.

Look at the first few verses. I love Daniel. Not for the obvious reasons why. I have a friend, and, we were talking about he's a dear brother in the Lord, and we were talking about how we were named. And and he told me he said, my father was planning to call me Daniel.

I said, really? And he goes, yeah. But then he didn't want me to have to live with that burden to live up to such a name. And so he he named me a different name. I thought, oh, gosh.

I don't even think about for that my my name. But Daniel is a profound person in the scriptures, and we see him praying at a certain point in his life. He's always praying throughout the book of Daniel, but look at this in verse one of chapter nine. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, by descent of Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely seventy years. I love Daniel.

We know Daniel to be a man of prayer, man of conviction. But you know what? You can add something to this man's example. He was a man who knew the Bible. Daniel studied the Bible, and we see here that Daniel studied.

He perceived other translations say there in verse two that he understood the books. He he didn't just read it. He sought to master it and to seek its applications in his life. And this is what he he realized. Jeremiah, divine revelation revealed in Jeremiah 25 that the exile will last seven years, and Daniel's been doing some math.

We're we're leading up to seventy years. Again, does the Bible fuel your prayer life? Because it does for Daniel. He understood what was said. Right?

This is fascinating. This is prophecy. This is an eternal decree by God. You would think that if there's anything that you would read in the bible that would not cause you to make any actions or response, it would be prophecy. What can you do about it?

God said it's gonna happen, so just enjoy the ride. That's not how Daniel understood prophecy. He understood prophecy and he goes, oh, I better get praying. Let let me ask God to fulfill this. It's incredible how this man thought.

So he seeks the Lord. Right? Look here at verse three. Then I turned my faith. Then I What do you mean turned your faith?

You're in Babylon. Where do you think he's turned his face to? Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and please for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Daniel is doing this out of a response of what he read in Jeremiah. Only Jeremiah?

Do you think he just knew Jeremiah? No. He knew first Kings chapter eight. And he knew, Solomon prayed and God answered by fire saying, I approve of these requests. Solomon said that whenever his people would be in captivity, that if they repent with all their heart, turn their face toward the house of God, and seek the Lord, he's willing to bring them home.

One man. Not the whole nation. He's in call for the remnant to seek the Lord. By himself, he bends his knee. He puts on sackcloth and ashes, and he seeks the Lord on behalf of his people.

When you read this prayer, it's one of the great prayers of the Bible as well. He includes himself. We have sinned. We have sinned. You know you know how significant that is?

Daniel was a man. He was imperfect, but try to find a recorded fault in Daniel's life in his book. Try. And yet this man says we, we, we. And God heard that prayer.

God honored that prayer. God preserved that prayer. And so I make the point that here's a man who prayed a prayer that really belonged to the nation, called the nation to respond to, and he did it on his own on behalf of the nation. And God is willing to hear a man even if that man prays for a country. Even that man prays for a church.

Even if a man prays for a city, God will honor that one man's prayer. That's powerful. Can we stay with Daniel a little bit? Because I really like him. Think about it.

We heard from pastor Daniel when he spoke out of Daniel a a couple Sundays in a row or where Daniel was to believe to be around how old when he came into Babylon? He was a teenager. Probably around 15 years old. Very zealous in Daniel chapter one. Right?

I mean, as a teenager, he stood his ground, and he had zeal and passion and conviction. And now based on Daniel chapter nine, we read that seventeen years close to seventy years passed by, which would make Daniel what if we believe he was 15 in Daniel chapter one? Close to 85. Is there any aversion, any dilution to his zeal? He remained constant.

Just as passionate, just as solid, just as trusting in God, just as worshipful as an 85 year old man. So don't buy the lie that the older you get, things become more familiar, and you're just gonna cool off. That's not Daniel. He didn't cool off. He just burned brighter.

He he was stronger in his faith, and so he comes before the lord. And what do you think happened from Daniel chapter one to Daniel chapter nine? Do you think he just sat in the same room for seventy years? No. Kingdoms came and went.

Government shifted. He only received greater and greater promotion. And with all the promotion, all the accolades, all the shifts around, one thing didn't change, this meant prayer life. This meant prayer life did not shift. Rulers shifted.

His financial and social status changed. One thing didn't change. Even when a law was given, if you pray in these next thirty days, you'll be killed. And he just alright. Time to pray.

And he just went and prayed. I love Daniel. You know what he could have done? What many Christians would have done? Just thirty days.

Some Christians have gone longer without praying, without any law. It's just thirty days. I'll just wait till it's done, and I don't wanna step on anybody's toes. You know? I'm I'm a high ranking official, of course, and Romans 13.

Right? Obey the government. Yeah. Obey the government. Now we come to concluding thoughts in first Kings chapter eight.

It's a long chapter. Solomon provides first Kings 52, a summary of what he's trying to say. First Kings eight fifty two, this is one way we can wrap up the kinds of prayer that God is willing to hear and answer. Verse 52, Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people, Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. Lord, just as a general request, whenever they call upon you, would you just answer?

And God answered by fire. He goes, I'm willing. I'm willing. Now look at these last things that Solomon says. He he begins to now turn and give a benediction to the people in verse 54.

So now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plead to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord where he had knelt with hands outstretched to heaven. Anything pop out to you in that verse? Who said it? He knelt. How did he start?

At some point, based on how the text flows, at some point he began standing with his hands stretched out, and he felt the weightiness of that moment. And he began to go to his knees. So he started on his feet, he he ended on his knees. It's a picture of growing submission in the place of prayer. So he gets out of off his knees, he turns to the people, and he stood again in verse 55, and he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice saying, blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel according to all that he promised.

Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Now look at this in verse 59. Let these words of mine with which I have pleaded before the Lord be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day requires.

This was Solomon's wish. Lord, this great prayer that I've prayed as humbly as I could pray it, as specifically as I could pray it, Lord, may these words stay near to you day and night, day and night, day and night. And what was a wish for Solomon is later revealed to be a reality for all the saints. When you go to Revelation five eight, you learn that this the saints and their prayers, more specifically, that come up before the throne of God are preserved by God in golden bowls of incense. I just love that thought.

That what Solomon really longed for, God reveals. Not only do I remember them, it's a sweet fragrance to me. You know what's important to me? I forget some of the prayers I've prayed. God doesn't.

Sometimes we see our prayers as just fanciful thinking, and if we throw enough of them up there, one of them will eventually be caught by the Lord, one of them will land at the foot of his throne. That's not how God sees it. Every prayer that's been prayed in sincerity of heart and truthfulness has been reserved, preserved as an aroma to him. That's incredible. Psalm says, Lord, would it be close to you?

Revelation says, not only is it close to me, I put it in this golden display, and I enjoy knowing that you depend on me day and night. Solomon here in verse 61 says, let your heart speak into the people. Therefore, be wholly true to the lord, our god, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments as at this day. Go back to how Solomon began his prayer in verse 23. Oh, lord god of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth beneath.

And what is the one thing that he highlights in terms of his incomparable greatness? Keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. The thing that caused Solomon's heart to praise him is his faithfulness, his steadfast commitment to those who walk before him. And how does Solomon end this? He ends this by turning to the people with a benediction that says, God has been faithful to you.

You be faithful to God. That's what he says. Let your heart you know God's heart. You heard about God's heart. Now let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God.

And that's how he closes this segment of the dedication. For the remaining of the chapter, he performs great acts of sacrifices. Thousands upon thousands of the greatest of beasts were slain to the point where they could not even put it on the altar. They had to dedicate a whole section of the outer court so that they can lay out all these animals and give something of great worth to the lord. And they celebrate the feast of tabernacles.

And in verse 66 we read, on the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people. Here's a little thought that sprung in my heart when I read this today. I thought, Lord, in the same way that the people left your house, glad of heart, filled with joy, shouldn't it be true every single Sunday? Shouldn't it be? Every Sunday we should leave here no matter how we came in filled with joy, filled with the revelation of the goodness of God, bringing laughter to our soul, holy laughter, and knowing who it is that we serve.

And Solomon now finished speaking to God. And in chapter nine, God is going to speak to Solomon. Let's pray. Let's pray. We heard about prayer.

If you wanna lift up holy hands, you can lift up holy hands. If you want your eyes to be open to heaven, your eyes can be open toward heaven. If you wanna bow your head and close your eyes, what's more important is your heart in this moment as you are speaking to the living God, the same God of Solomon, the same God of David, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the same God of Paul, the same God of Peter, James, and John is the same God who hears us today. Father, we thank you that we get to be in your house tonight, and we pray that the deposit these people had at the end of this dedication service of great joy, gladness of heart, would be our portion as well. We ask, oh, lord, that we would be rekindled and rejuvenated in the place of prayer, and knowing that you're willing to hear, knowing that the access we have with our request and our circumstances are far beyond what we could imagine.

And Lord, whatever circumstance any person finds himself in today, whether they're in need of help, whether they're in need of restoration with you, whether they're in need of wisdom or clarity, Lord, may they not fail to look to you in the place of prayer, in all things and for all things, believing that you will answer. And believing that you will come through and that you will be glorified in it. Would you make us a people of prayer? Would you make us Lord, years from now, people who have not changed in their conviction and practice of seeking you sweetly and desperately at times. Make us like Daniel.

Make us like this man who whenever he engaged with the word of God, it just added fuel to the fire of his personal intimacy with you. Oh, Lord, make us like Daniel that no matter what changes come to our country, to our own worlds, to the world at large, that one thing would not change and that's our posture of humility before you in the place of prayer. Lord, we look to you and we ask. Make this church a prayer church. Keep us as a praying church, and may we see the fruit of our prayers.

Thank you that even now, what is happening now is that you are collecting every prayer that's being offered in every heart, and you are securing them and sealing them as a sweet trophy before your throne. What a mighty God we serve. We crown you with our praise and adoration. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen.

Oh, saints. It's so great to see so many of you on a Friday night. You bless my heart. More importantly, you bless the heart of God. Let's stand now in the presence of the Lord.

Sing to the living God. Honor him and worship him on a Friday night. He's worthy. Worthy of more than just a Sunday afternoon. He's worthy of day and night worship.