Praying the words starting with "P" from I Kings 5 - 8
Greetings,
It seems the Lord is revealing a new emphasis of prayer targets for me to consider. As I share this with you I pray that it helps focus your prayer times. So many have a hard time praying for long periods of time before the Lord; very few undertake the 'hour of prayer'. May something like this aid and help you pray more deeper and fuller. At the end of last year into the new year, there was several word studies that I had done, and was doing that led me to 'Praying the "D's"'. I have adopted 5 central areas of praying topics: Future; Nation; Church: Family/Home & Personal/Individual.
Praying the words of D then led me to praying words that started with H. The 'D's were generally from previous word studies that I have done in bible reading. But the "H's were more visible aroudn Solomon's prayer from I Kings 8. And now most numerous is this which is also generally in I Kings 8, that I share with the words that begin with "P". Each of them to direct the mind and heart to pray the Lord's will and way into these 5 areas of our life. And each word of P to cause us to pray spiritual, kingdom prayers. May this be an asset and help to you for focus, change of pace or develop deeper paths of prayer. But whatever the case may be, we are in a spiritual warfare and need to war a good warfare. The power of prevailing prayer is the answer, may we obey and fulfill it.
The "P" WORDS: PREPARE; PLACE; PURE; PART; PERTAINED; PRESENCE OF THE LORD; PERFORMED; PROMISED; PRAY; PEOPLE; & PERFECT
1. PREPARE
I Kings 5:18, "so they prepared timber and stones to build the house"
Prepare, it is probably the best way to begin in focus of prayer and prayer times. Solomon was getting ready to build the house of the Lord. A house unlike anything else every constructed or made for the Lord. And it was to be a 'house of prayer'. He set about to prepare for that which would be needed, just as David had done. All physical things were being prepared for the building of this temple. And as we prepare to enter into the throne of God, we must prepare ourselves in minds, souls, body and heart for what is getting ready to take place.
Prepare the heart and mind to focus. Flesh and Satan will come to distract and disrupt us in our thoughts and sensitivity to the Spirit. Prepare for this, by knowing before hand what will happen and what we need to do to overcome it. Andrew Murray said it this way to prepare, "A glance at Christ will save; but the gazing at Christ will sanctify." Knowing to Whom we are approaching, and for is at stake in this prayer time is a way of preparing and focusing for the moments to come. Haphazard thoughts, hearts, words and focus will not succeed in the prayer closet; it will be a constant state of chaos, disruptions, distractions and unfocused jumbling of thoughts, targets, and words. It won't prevail this way.
but the focus of 'looking at Jesus' with a gaze that beholds, to Whom we are approaching, the Lord God; Father, Son & Holy Ghost. There gathered before the grace and mercy to obtain help and answers for this time of need and requests. This is the prayer that shall prevail; for it is all about Him and His will. Too often we are looking at self, or the circumstances, or temporal, earthly things; but rather may the gaze of Christ prepare us to hear, believe and pray His heart. Proper preparation too often is not done and pray time becomes a task, often frustrating.
2. PLACE
I Kings 6:21; 8:6, 8, 10, 'The holy place"
There are two other places mentioned later in this prayer and chapter that we will identify later on. But for now let us examine this place, 'the holy place'.
Solomon was building the temple unto the Lord God. Never had He had a place like this to come down and for them to gather to worship and sacrifice. This was a holy place. God is holy, and all that proceeds from Him is holy. At the end of Solomon's prayer, the Lord came down in Holy Presence and filled the 'holy of holies'.
3. PURE
I Kings 6:20, 21; 7:49, 50 - made; "made of pure gold";
The word 'pure' throughout this segment of chapter 6 -8 is only used 4 times. And in all these references it used to the physical, no spiritual item of gold. Pure gold is higher, and more rare than gold. So that it is when we come across its use, we may quickly pass over it. But in light of the 'P' words it stops us to pray for it. And definitely not in the sense of pure gold, but pure saints, and a pure church. For the very reality of pure in the midst of the body of Christ in our own personal lives means that we are right and at one with Christ.
We see that praying for a pure nation can never be. The world that we live in is cursed. It was cursed and has been cursed since the garden of Eden. Purity is a rare and hard thing to find among the sons of men. Born in sin, practicing sin, loving sin and eroded by sin is the norm. The mind, heart, body and soul is all affected by this impurity of thoughts, words and deeds. The Christian is delivered from impurity and purged from sin by the blood of Christ. 'What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus"; herein is the purity of a life and soul. "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" is the purging fo the mind of evil thoughts, of impure thought. But the whole of creation will never know that state of perfected pureness that it held before the fall of Eve. We shall see utter purity in heaven, but not till then.
The purity of a nation can have many aspects to get to this point of pureness. The way its society lives, thinks, operates all has a hand in it. Yet, most nations have evil leaders, evil pracitces and pureness is alienated from its prioity. And where you have the vast majority of over 200 nations throughout the world, and a small percentage is Christian, being pure is obsolete from the nations. They are evil, they practice evil, and generall hate and defy any that stand for purity.
Yet when we view the church, here is our target that can and should seek for purity. Just as we know the command, 'be ye holy, for I am holy'; such a state of holiness means that one is pure. They have been cleansed and they continue to maintain and work toward that end of being pure within and without and all around within the body of Christ. the power of the Holy Ghost upon the body of Christ can allow for the church to be pure by their actions, thoughts and intents. We see this from the day of Pentecost and throughout the book of Acts that the church cleansed itself of impurities and sought unto this state of pureness. During great days of revival, the church was made pure again. But the prayer for being pure must be sought again in the midst of the state of the church
4. PART
I Kings 6:24 'uttermost part'; 6:33 'fourth part';
5. PERTAINED
I Kings 7:48, 'all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord';
6. PRESENCE
I Kings 8:10 - 11, 'Presence of the Lord came down';
7. PERFORMED
8. PROMISED
9. PRAY
I Kings 8:26, "and now, O God of Israel, let Thy word, I pray Thee, be verified, which Thou spakest unto Thy servant David my father"; v. 28, "Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord, my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer; which Thy servant prayeth before thee to do"; v. 29 "that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward this place"; v. 30 "And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place"; v. 33 "and shall confess Thy Name, and pray and make supplication unto Thee in this house"; v. 35 "if they pray toward thi splace, and confess Thy Name"; v. 38, "What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all Thy people Israel"; v. 42 "when he shall come and pray toward this house"; v. 44, "and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which Thou hast chosen"; v. 48, "and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers"; v. 49 "Then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling place"; v. 54 "when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord" 9:3, "And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before Me"
10. PLACE
I Kings 8:29 - "that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward this place."
I Kings 8:30, "when they shall pray toward this place; and hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place"
Earlier in number 2 we examine 'place' directly in the phrase, 'the holy place'. Now we return to the same word for its reference to the direction of place.
Two places are identified here by Solomon in his prayer unto the Lord. The place where the prayer is offered, in the holy house of God; generally at the altar. and the holy place where the prayer is received, in heaven. These two places of prayer are the point of understanding the concept of prayer between God and man. God stirs men to seek and speak unto Him. Men seek God to hear them and hear from Him. God hears and answers for the purpose of His Divine will and glory. Men pray for God's will to be done and His Name glorified.
Far too often this is not dealt with nor thought upon. Where are our prayers going? To Whom are they being received or rejected? and why? The place of prayer is where, here on earth, the prayer are issued from. Yes, the prayers issue from within us, our souls, heart and mind. That truly is another study of the places of prayer. But for now, the physcial place of prayer from which the saint offers his petitions, supplications, thanksgivings, intercession and pleas. Solomon had build a holy place from which prayers were to be sent and offered before the Lord. For us today, we recognize the church building, the place of which the church gathers and assembles together. The place that is consecrated within most church, whether, generally at the front of the church, an altar.
in the private home, or smaller gathering of the saints, the designated place of gathering in a home, room, out in the field, consecrates a place where the knees bow, the gathering takes place and that is constitiued as the holy ground of the altar. The altar is a holy place from which men bow and God. It may not be the purity of gold, or elaborate design, it may be the simpleness of a step, chair or stump of wood. But is it a designated place from which the saint offers his prayers unto the Lord God.
And somehow, as only God can do, He assembles and collects the thoughts, intents, and words of the saint and the prayers, as described in Revelation, are offered as incense before Him from the golden censer. No doubt, prayers that are 'asking amiss', prayer that are from unclean hearts and hands, are not received but rejected.
11. PERFECT
I Kings 8:61, "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our our God";
The close of the chapter and all these events leads us to the last 'P' word of perfect. The command is for the heart to be perfect with the Lord. And we understand that if the heart be right with God, the rest will be right with God. But if the heart is not right, then neither will the rest. 'Perfect', probably one of the words that the church and Christians try to stay away from as much as possible. At the mere mention of it, the church begins its defense against its command: "No one is perfect"; "No one can be perfect, why bring it up or teach it" And yet the Word of God does teach it and does command it! IN Deuteronomy 18:13, 'thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God'.
And it is needful for us to understand this in order to pray for it rightly. Perfect means to be complete. For us, in our spiritual definition it is to be complete in Christ. When we read through the Bible we read of the saints, that even though they had sin mentioned in their lives, it is said of them, they were 'perfect with God.'
--Noah; "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked with God"
--Abraham; "I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect"
--Asa; "nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord his God all his days";
--Hezekiah; "remember O Lord how I have walked before Thee with a perfect heart"
The call and attainment of being perfect with the Lord, during our days here on earth is found in the heart of the individual. And the one characteristic of each of these that are marked as 'being perfect with the Lord' is that they walked with God. Therefore the prayer for perfect must be in praying for the healthy, holy, righteous, faithful walk of the soul before God and with God. Pray for the desire to attain unto perfection. For even the Apostly Paul said it and prayed it, "Having not attained unto perfection, yet striving unto it" and then later on in these verses, 'Although I have attained unto it". Oh, how much more is there for the church, for the Christian if they would understand that there is more than 'just getting by'.
Pray for the church to set that high standard of Paul, of Christ, of so many great saints that set that mark of Christ before them and said in their heart and soul, 'To be like Christ'. that priority is largely missing from the church and from families and individual Christians. The prayer of intent and purpose and priority is to be ushered before the Lord. "Lord, make Your people like You." the understanding of the Christian and church is to be holy like He is holy; to be perfect, like He is perfect. Too many settle for something less than what God intended, desires and wants. The warning is giving in Revelation 3, not to settle for less, for it leads to the 'luke-warm heart" which is spued out by God.
Now praying for a perfect nation, future is not of this world. For there are many in history that sought for perfection through 'uptopia's' Uptopias are not possible in the nations. For the reality of our existence is that men cannot be perfect with the Lord, outside of walking and fearing the Lord. Few there be that find it; many there be that don't. The nations are largely made up of heathens, of lost souls that follow their leader Satan into darkness and hell. These can never be a part of perfection for they are the very opposite, imperfect. Nothing is complete in them, for they are of the devil and of sin, and know nothing of complete in Christ, for Christ or by Christ. Chaos, disorder, vile, evil are their traits; these have nothing to do with perfection in God.
And as for our future; it is praying amiss to ask for this. For the Lord said, that there would always be war, rumours of war, death, dying, pestilences for the sins of the nations against Him and His Father. These are days of triublations and there will no perfection until we arrive safely hom in heaven with Him for all eternity. There can and should be the prayer of perfection for the soul, for the family, for the church but that is as far as it goes.
Days of revival in nations, locations give a glimpse of perfection in society, as God intended, but still comes short. society, nations without crime, without hate, without divisions, such a rare thing to read of and hear of in days of revival, but demonstrates that with God all things are possible. and without God nothing is possible.
Started: January 15, 2018
Continued: 1/16;1/22; 1/27; 1/30; 1/31;
Finished:
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