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Today is Saturday April 24, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of I Kings chapter 8. If you would like to read along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-april-24

Title: Bible Study: Wholeheartedly Committed
Prayer is our most valuable asset, the word prayer means that you are asking God for something, we can talk to God and praise Him and thank Him for the things that He has done for us and blessed us with, but this is not praying. The only time it is prayer is when we are asking Him for things. When we pray to God we are telling Him, “I have done everything I possibly can, I put my faith and trust in You to help me and give me what I need.” This is where there can be complications and confusion when we start asking God for help and not seeing any results. Probably the most common mistake that Christians make is they get too confident in themselves that they never pray to God, that is, until they are in trouble. Now, first of all, we are to never cease from praying, we are to actually be praying for things that pertain to the future, today. Second, we need to pray for things that are in the will of God, if we are asking for some things that goes against God we are not going to receive them. Third, and the most important thing to remember when we are asking God for things, we need to be willing to do the work needed to receive them. What I mean by this is that God blesses us for the things we do for Him today, we can not just be good until we receive them then go back to our old bad habits. That only shows God that we are making a mockery out of His good graces. If we truly want to receive the blessings from God we are to go to Him wholeheartedly, ceasing from the bad habits at all times. God will prove to us one way or another that we need to be in His will at all times.

King Solomon was the wisest and most wealthiest man of his time, all of his success was due to the fact that his father, David was a godly man and he passed on the reigns to him. However, his biggest downfall was that fact that he was not wholeheartedly committed to God. The time had come for the Ark to be placed in its new home, a home that King David commanded Solomon to build before his death. “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude....And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” - I Kings 8:1-5,10,11. It was the biggest event of their time, the Ark was about to be put in it's permanent resting place. Thousands of people walking with the king, priests, and Levites, worshiping, singing, and praising God along the way. Suddenly, God's glory descends and fills the House so powerfully that the priests cannot stand before it to minister. Today, the glory of God descends off of every Christian who wholeheartedly seeks to live their lives through Jesus Christ.

As the people stood in the courtyard and worshiped the Lord, Solomon stood on a platform and prayed the longest recorded prayer in the Bible, “And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:...What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.” - I Kings 8:23,38-43. Solomon knew well that there was only one God and that God looked upon the heart, not only in Jews, but Gentiles as well. God looks upon men's hearts and knows whether or not their prayer is a mere passing emotion or that they have truly turned to Him for help.

Prayer is a wonderful privilege given to us by God, but all our prayers are worthless unless we give ourselves to God wholeheartedly. Now, we can from time to time get ourselves out of the will of God, but those who give themselves wholeheartedly to God will be forgiven and reconciled with God when they come to Him and repent and seek forgiveness. In fact the better our relationship with God the less we will sin and seek Him wholeheartedly. “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart....With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” - Psalms 119:2,10,11. Want all of God's blessings? It's simple, say, “I will hide Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” This is the true will of God and how we can receive His blessings and keep from sin. Every child of God is more precious to our Heavenly Father than Solomon's Temple was since we are the temple of God. Every day is a sacred trust that becomes more meaningful with the awareness that the God of heaven lives wholeheartedly within every believer.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and the rest of your weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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