Prayer, the How and Why

I Kings 8:22-24, 27-28, 38-39, 43

Introduction: We are told to pray but not many passages in the Bible teach us how to pray and the meaning of it. Just as there are ways we speak to our children, our spouses and our employers, there are ways to speak to God.

Today we look at I Kings. Solomon had at last built the great temple to God and was going to dedicate it.

Solomon had allied himself with Hiram, King of Tyre, in order to acquire materials needed for the temple. Much attention is given in scripture to the details of the temple, describing them to give a full picture of how elaborate and ornate the house of God was, so that it was worthy for God to dwell in it among His people. Solomon gathered the people of the nation together for a time of prayer to dedicate the temple and remind the people of the dependence on God. God would later appear to Solomon to reassure the king that his prayers had been heard and answered.

We pray because God is faithful I Kings 8:22-24 “  22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:   23 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:   24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.”

1. Solomon prayed himself, he did not let his priests do it

   1. V. 54 of that chapter shows he kneeled; thus we see the proper posture for prayer

   2. HE spread his hands towards heaven to acknowledge it was from the heavens that God pours out His blessings

2. Give honor and glory to God V. 23. This is how a prayer should start

3. Give God thanks for what He has done-kept His promise to David, Solomon’s father

We pray because God listens After the thanks, we make the supplication I Kings 8: 27-28 “27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?   28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: “ 

1. V. 27 is humble admiration for God—God blesses the earth though it is corrupt and unworthy of Him.

2. God cannot be included in any one place because He is everywhere. NOTE: When we have done all we can for God we must acknowledge the distant and proportion between us

3. V.28. He asks that God hear the prayer NOTE: Sometimes it is wise to ‘talk’ to God before you ask him in formal prayer.

4. The temple would be a medium to God, not an object itself of worship

We pray because God Responds to prayer I Kings 8:38-39 “38 What prayer and supplication so ever 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:   39 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;)”

1. God is personable to each person “…so ever be made by any man,” to our individual afflictions

2. Sin is evident everywhere in our lives, we need forgiveness and prayer opens the door to that forgiveness

3. We spread our hands as a sign of opening our hearts to our desires, sincerity and hypocrisy.

4. V.43 is one of the first signs of God’s love towards the sinners that are Gentiles. He refers to the “stranger”.

5. This shows that prayer is for everyone, saint and sinner

Conclusion: Prayer is our way to speak to God and to receive from God. WE need to remember that prayer has its form and procedure, while not always strict; nevertheless we should never forget it is God we are talking to and should act with the respect that is due.