1 CHRONICLES 29:10-19 – Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.”
How encouraging is it when someone looks us in the face, sends a text or email, or drops us a good old fashion snail mail card saying, “I am praying for you”? Much. Very much. In fact, the words of A. W. Pink concerning our prayers for one another are worthy to ponder and practice, “The measure of our love for others can largely be determined by the frequency and earnestness of our prayers for them.”
In today’s scripture is a portion of David’s great prayer for his son Solomon as God tasked him to build the temple. It is full of encouragement and as such, we enter into it for that purpose. One of the great challenges in the Christian life is to do battle constantly against discouragement. The reason why the challenge is great is because a lot of things tempt to discourage us – the increasing godless condition of the world, the worldly and powerless condition of the lukewarm church, and our own many failings in living consecrated lives for the Lord. We need encouragement and David directs us to the ultimate source of encouragement – the Person of our God.
As we read his prayer, pay close attention to how he describes God – Father, great, full of power, glory, victory and majesty; the God of absolute authority and reign over everything and everyone including us and our circumstances; and the God full of riches, blessings, and honor. And here comes the awesome encouragement – God declares He is our God, our Father, and not ashamed to be owned by us! So, to drive away discouragement, stop looking at the world, the church, even ourselves, and ask the Lord of glory to give us clear spiritual vision to see Him in all the splendor of His encouraging Person we can handle this side of heaven! We will be quickly lifted up to the praise of His glory.
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for not only the promises in Your Word that encourage me, but the prayers too.”
QUOTE: “Read the prayers of the Bible for both instruction how to pray and encouragement from them.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim