2Chronicles 7:11 – 2Chronicles 23:15
Overview
Day 32 of the Bible in 90 days begins as Solomon prays to God and the Lord hears his prayers. We learn that Solomon marries a foreign wife and he won’t bring her to live in the same place as the Arc of God. The reading continues with Solomon completing the temple of the Lord and palace. Later, the queen of Sheba visits Solomon and is amazed by his wisdom and riches. King Solomon dies and Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, becomes King. The king gets bad advice from young advisers regarding Jeroboam and Jeroboam rebels against the King. The kingdom is split North & South. Rehaboam flees to Jerusalem in the south and is King of Judah. Jeroboam becomes king of the north which is Israel. As the years pass, so do the various kings of these two kingdoms. Judah for the most part follows God’s covenant and Israel in the north does not.
Scripture – 2Chronicles 7:14-15
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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Observation
Solomon has been fully seated as the new King of Israel and completes building the Temple of the Lord. God’s glory filled the temple and Solomon prays before his people as he dedicates the Temple to the Lord. One evening the Lord appears to Solomon and says that He heard his prayer. God goes on to say that when He causes calamity within the land and the people humble themselves and pray to repent, He will hear them and forgive their sins and heal their land.
Application
People often wonder if God hears our prayers. A good analogy for this would be that of a parent and child. When the child is screaming or yelling a request to their parent(s), more likely than not, the parent will ignore the child. They won’t respond to the child positively because of the attitude and demeanor that the child displayed. When the child humbles themselves and responds with a sincere apology, the parent will give a positive response. This is what God appears to have indicated He will do with Solomon and God’s people in the scripture above. When we humble ourselves and repent and pray to the Lord, He will hear us. We must remember that when we approach God in prayer, we must humble ourselves. We are bringing our heartfelt concerns to the Lord and God does not owe us anything.
Prayer
Lord, you care enough about me to hear my prayers. Thank you that you love me. I pray that I will always come to you with a humble heart.
