A House for the Name of the Lord Jesus
Solomon Prays to the Name of the Lord in His House
The prayer of Solomon is the single prayer that revolutionized how and where the Children of Israel pray, 1 Kings 8: 1 – 43. Solomon standing before the altar of the Lord before the “congregation of Israel” stretched his hands towards heaven and prays: 1 Kings 8:22.
Solomon starts his prayer by identifying the god he prays to specifically by name, “LORD God of Israel”. He continues his prayer by identifying and worshipping his God. How is this for worship: “there is no God like” you, “in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who” keeps “covenant and mercy with” your “servants that walk before” you “with all their heart,” 1 Kings 8:23. I love this. Solomon combines his worship of his God with the specific reason for his prayer. Above where Solomon mentions “covenant, mercy and servants”, he is referring to his father David, himself and God’s covenant with them. The Lord answers the prayer of those who serve Him with all their heart.
Solomon continues his prayer, he acknowledges that God made a promise to his father and He kept it, 1 Kings 8:24. Then Solomon repeats God’s promise to David and request that He keeps it, 1 Kings 8:25.
The Lord’s Promise to King David & King Solomon
“There shall not fail” you “a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that” your “children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as” you have “walked before me,” 1 Kings 8:25. Then King Solomon asked the Lord to “verify” His promise, which He made with King David, 1 Kings 8:26.
There’s not another book like the Bible in all the world. I just love how King Solomon explains the Lord God is a Spirit and the entire universe cannot contain Him, 1 Kings 8:27. Then King Solomon asked the Lord to respond to the prayer he’s making today, for a number of reasons, 1 Kings 8:28.
7 Reasons the Lord Responds to Prayer to His Name in His House
- Keep your eyes on “this house” because your name “shall be there” and respond to prayer your “servant shall make toward this place”, 1 Kings 8:29.
- King Solomon asked the Lord to listen to him and to “Israel” when they pray toward this house and “forgive”, 1 Kings 8:30.
- He also asked the Lord to “judge” between Jews with disputes involving “oaths” when their disputes come to the priest “in this house”, 1 Kings 8:31-32.
- Israel will lose in war with her enemies because of sin. However, if Israel repent, “confess” your “name” and “pray” to God “in this house”, “hear” “forgive” their sins and work on their behalf, 1 Kings 8:33-34.
- Drought could be an indication of sin against the Lord. However, if Israel prays towards this house, “confess” your “name” and “turn from their sin” “hear” forgive their sin and give “rain”, 1 Kings 8:35-36.
- Whatever problem Israel has and an Israelite or the nation of Israel shall pray towards “this house” then “hear” from heaven “forgive and do” according to their prayers, that they may “fear” the Lord, 1 Kings 8:39-40.
- Finally, “concerning a stranger” a person who is none Jewish who comes to your house for “your name’s sake” and “pray towards this house” honor his words, 1 Kings 8:41-42.
“Hear” God “in heaven” your “dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger” calls “to” you “for: that all people of the earth may know” your “name, to fear” you”, as do” your “people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have” built, “is called by thy name,” 1 Kings 8:43.
The house that King Solomon built for the name of the Lord is for the Jews
The house that King Solomon built for the name of the Lord is for the Jews. What about the Gentiles or none Jews, would everyone has to visit Jerusalem to worship God?
Since King Solomon made the temple and prayed this prayer the Jews, either pray in the temple during the hour of prayer or pray towards the temple if they are unable to be there. What provision did God make for the rest of the world concerning having an audience for our prayers and responding?
Both Jesus and the Woman by the Well briefly mentioned this problem in their conversation, John 4:20-24. Jesus makes it possible that the rest of the world needs not visit Jerusalem to worship God but can worship Him wherever he finds himself, John 4:21.
For people who are not Jewish and for the Jews who believe in Jesus Christ they now have a new temple, besides the one in Jerusalem. That temple is the temple of their body, 1 Corinthians 6:19. After Jesus’ ascension, he sent his Spirit to earth to reside in the bodies of all his disciples, 1 Corinthians 3:16. This happened on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:1-4. All who believed on Jesus because of his disciples’ words concerning Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection will receive the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ has transformed our bodies into the temple of the Living God, 1 Corinthians 3:17.
The temple of our body operate on similar principles to the temple in Jerusalem for we must keep it sanctified and holy for God to continue to dwell in it. Thank God for Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Owing to Jesus’ provision for the world to make petition to God and He hears and honors our requests we don’t need to go to the temple for we are the temple of God. Any problems we have we can have audience with God anytime, any place we don’t need an hour of prayer to approach Him.
Today, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we can ask God for our heart’s desires in spirit and in truth without going to Jerusalem. Right where you are, lift your hands to the Lord in heaven and say, Thank you Lord for Calvary’s Cross. We are house for the name of Jesus because Christ was obedient to the cross.
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