October 28, 2010
Wow! It's been ten days since I've written. We've just returned from five days of vacation with the whole family. What a fun and great time we had with our kids and grandchildren. Many, many wonderful memories were made. Now... back to writing.
Solomon is praying to God in front of all the Israelites. First praising God; then asking God to keep His promises. What I find amazing is this: At the very time "the storm" in our lives is picking up in intensity, I am reading in II Chronicles (of all places) and there are three things in these chapters that exactly correlate with what Jane (Her Name Was Jane) told us to read back in 2007, just days after "the storm" first hit.
1) Psalm 150 and II Chronicles 5:12–13 - Praise to God
2) Psalm 140:9 and II Chronicles 6:23 - "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence."
3) Psalm 140:12 and II Chronicles 6:39 - "...then hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause."
The exact same words at the exact time the winds of "the storm" picked up strength again.
Solomon repeatedly prays for protection for those who have been wrongly accused. II Chronicles 6:35–39 - "Then hear their prayers from heaven and do what is right." Solomon finished praying and fire came down from heaven and the LORD's glory filled the temple. All the people worshiped and said, "He is good; his love continues forever." Then the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, "I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people." (In other words there will be consequences.) BUT then the promise found in II Chronicles 7:14 - "IF my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." IF—THEN.
The choice is ours. The choice is yours. The LORD goes on to say, "But, you must serve me... you must obey my commands... you must follow me... you must not serve other gods" (self, money). "IF you do... I (God) will take... I (God) will leave... I (God) will bring disaster on them."
The choice is ours. The choice is yours. I choose to believe. I choose to follow. I choose to serve. I choose to obey.
Addendum: October, 2014 - See LORD – What Am I to Do?
II Chronicles 6:23 - "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence." Declare. Establish. That is our prayer. I don't know how that could possibly happen. In fact, I would say it is impossible. But we serve a God that specializes in the impossible so we are going to ask. We want our names cleared for HIS name sake.
I was going to go on to say "if" this journal is to be "The Book" but God stopped me in my tracks. I can no longer hide behind the word "if."
IS THE STORY. It is "The Book." We want the way cleared for HIS STORY to be told with legitimacy and without a cloud of doubt. So we are going to ask for the impossible. LORD, we pray the words of Solomon, "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence." Amen.
I think back to what the two pillars were named. He Establishes and In HIM Is Strength. So true. So true.
Addendum #2: 10/30/18 ~ I've been thinking a lot about the prayer of Solomon after reading it again several days ago.
This is what I KNOW: The Lord hears; HE acts; HE judges; HE repays; HE declares; and HE will establish our innocence. It is ALL about HIM. Our only responsibility is to remain faithful and wait for HIS fulfillment of HIS promises.
I've now memorized this prayer that Solomon prayed in the temple and quote it (along with Psalm 8, Psalm 150, Psalm 140 and Psalm 1) often.
2020 Update: Establish innocence; to make firm, secure, permanent. That is exactly what happened. "The Storm" is over. Permanently! It can never be rekindled or brought up in a court of law again. Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!
Next Entry: II Chronicles 8:1 – 9:31
Wow! It's been ten days since I've written. We've just returned from five days of vacation with the whole family. What a fun and great time we had with our kids and grandchildren. Many, many wonderful memories were made. Now... back to writing.
Solomon is praying to God in front of all the Israelites. First praising God; then asking God to keep His promises. What I find amazing is this: At the very time "the storm" in our lives is picking up in intensity, I am reading in II Chronicles (of all places) and there are three things in these chapters that exactly correlate with what Jane (Her Name Was Jane) told us to read back in 2007, just days after "the storm" first hit.
1) Psalm 150 and II Chronicles 5:12–13 - Praise to God
2) Psalm 140:9 and II Chronicles 6:23 - "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence."
3) Psalm 140:12 and II Chronicles 6:39 - "...then hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause."
The exact same words at the exact time the winds of "the storm" picked up strength again.
Solomon repeatedly prays for protection for those who have been wrongly accused. II Chronicles 6:35–39 - "Then hear their prayers from heaven and do what is right." Solomon finished praying and fire came down from heaven and the LORD's glory filled the temple. All the people worshiped and said, "He is good; his love continues forever." Then the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, "I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people." (In other words there will be consequences.) BUT then the promise found in II Chronicles 7:14 - "IF my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." IF—THEN.
The choice is ours. The choice is yours. The LORD goes on to say, "But, you must serve me... you must obey my commands... you must follow me... you must not serve other gods" (self, money). "IF you do... I (God) will take... I (God) will leave... I (God) will bring disaster on them."
The choice is ours. The choice is yours. I choose to believe. I choose to follow. I choose to serve. I choose to obey.
Addendum: October, 2014 - See LORD – What Am I to Do?
II Chronicles 6:23 - "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence." Declare. Establish. That is our prayer. I don't know how that could possibly happen. In fact, I would say it is impossible. But we serve a God that specializes in the impossible so we are going to ask. We want our names cleared for HIS name sake.
I was going to go on to say "if" this journal is to be "The Book" but God stopped me in my tracks. I can no longer hide behind the word "if."
Walking by Faith: A True Story of God's Faithfulness
and
Walking on His Footpath (Following the Master's Lead)
IS THE STORY. It is "The Book." We want the way cleared for HIS STORY to be told with legitimacy and without a cloud of doubt. So we are going to ask for the impossible. LORD, we pray the words of Solomon, "...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence." Amen.
I think back to what the two pillars were named. He Establishes and In HIM Is Strength. So true. So true.
Addendum #2: 10/30/18 ~ I've been thinking a lot about the prayer of Solomon after reading it again several days ago.
"...then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence."Hear. Act. Judge. Repay. Declare. Establish. Strong words that have gripped my heart. I decided to look up the definitions to some of the key words in order to get a better understanding of the full depth of their meanings. Wow. While I am not going to write the definitions out in detail, I found them all to be very relevant, with very special and applicable meanings to "the storm" we are facing.
This is what I KNOW: The Lord hears; HE acts; HE judges; HE repays; HE declares; and HE will establish our innocence. It is ALL about HIM. Our only responsibility is to remain faithful and wait for HIS fulfillment of HIS promises.
I've now memorized this prayer that Solomon prayed in the temple and quote it (along with Psalm 8, Psalm 150, Psalm 140 and Psalm 1) often.
2020 Update: Establish innocence; to make firm, secure, permanent. That is exactly what happened. "The Storm" is over. Permanently! It can never be rekindled or brought up in a court of law again. Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!
Next Entry: II Chronicles 8:1 – 9:31
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