praise | Be Still...

1 Kings 8:22-53 – Solomon’s Prayer

girl standing alongside a roadway with her arms extended to the sky as if to say "Use Me God!"

We continue to witness history being made as Solomon, in front of all Israel, prays this dedication. I love the clues we can get from this prayer for our own prayer life. Solomon says, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below.”

Did you notice how he starts out this prayer? Solomon speaks to God with admiration and awe. Wouldn’t you agree this is a great way to start a prayer? Get our hearts and mind straight on the truth. It will also get God’s attention!

2 Samuel 7:18-29 – Why Me, God?

Read 2 Samuel 7:18-29

This is one of those texts we should read and reread. It’s good for us to see David’s heart overflowing. This is how David responded to the message Nathan brought in our last reading. Think for a moment about how you would respond. The LORD really gave David something to think about.

David prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD?” I see humility and almost disbelief in his words. David had to be thinking “why me, I’m nobody special.” After all, wasn’t David was just a shepherd boy with musical talent? He had to realize all his victories had been because that’s how God wanted it to play out. David’s prowess as a mighty warrior was a gift from God.

1 Samuel 2:1-11 – Song of Praise

Read 1 Samuel 2:1-11

red on black - treble clef with hearts on a staff, all swirling around bright light

For the gift Hannah received from the Lord, she was full of joy. It overflowed into this beautiful song. The first couple verses (1-2) could be a song of praise we all sing to God for how he is working in our lives. Reread it again as if this is your praise!

I love the sense of peace that flows over me as I read those words. God is our rock, steady and strong. We may be facing all sorts of tormentors and temptations, but we can cling to God, our rock. I think of Isaiah 40:29 which reads, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” That theme is running through this song of praise as well, and it’s truth is comforting.

Psalm 149 – Sing for Joy

Read Psalm 149

So much praising going on. It is such a delight to picture faithful ones singing and dancing while giving glory to God. Why is it that we don’t see more of that in our culture today? I’m not saying it’s not there at all. We’ve all seen how some groups and churches go all out with dancing, praise banners, and musical instruments.

What does your praise look like behind closed doors? Do you have a tambourine hidden in your closet for those moments when you go all out? “Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.” God honors the faithful. That is certainly something to put joy on our lips!

Isaiah 25:1-12 – Hallelujah!

Read Isaiah 25:1-12

After our reading yesterday, I feel like the light switch was just turned on. Truly our mourning is turned to dancing. Psalm 30:11-12 pictures it like this. “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!” Such a beautiful compliment the praise given here for judgment and salvation.

I had highlighted verse 1 along the way, and it’s good to see those “notes to self” in my Bible. I wish I had put a date on it – there was even a yellow sticker which signifies “God’s Plan and Promise.” I think that is a surprisingly good summation of what we have going on in this whole chapter. It was God’s plan, his will, and his intention, that his people would go through their time of desolation. For those who endured, the promise of salvation and a feast in his presence would come. “O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God.”