Focus
Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.
Read
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. 23 He said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, 24 the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. 25 Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! 28 Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.
Reflect
I love this passage of scripture because it has helped me think about the church during the pandemic. Like most other churches, my church stopped meeting together for around 6 months during the pandemic. I missed my church. I was reminded on an almost daily basis that the church wasn’t a building, it is the people. I believe that. But I feel what Solomon says in his dedicatory prayer at the Temple.
Our church buildings are more than gathering places. They are the places where we gathered together, to sing, to worship, to take communion, to have our babies baptized, our children married, and our parents buried. It is a place where we do this together, face to face. It is a place where we pray together for one another, hug one another, console one another, rejoice with one another in the presence of God.
Ultimately, the church is a building, but more than a building in the same way a house is more than a building when it is a “home.” Yes, we are the church, but the building is the “home” for your church family.
Pray
Dear God, thank you for the church, the building, and the people. Help me to remember and cherish all those holy moments I have experienced at the church. Bring to mind all the wonderful saints who have formed and shaped the people that have gathered at that building. Lord, I thank you for all of our churches. Amen
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.