Bible In One Year-Day 166 (Saturday, June 15, 2013)

2Chronicles7-9. When Solomon took up the task to build the temple of God, he followed the following sequence;

a)     Laid the foundation as it was handed over to him by his father, David (2Chr3),

b)     Ensured the structures are put in place, chapter4 (reparation, repentance and restitution),

c)     Ensured the  proper furnishing of the Temple, chapter5 (use the word of God to nourish your soul),

d)     praises, prayer and supplication, chapter6 (habitual praises and prayer in the new nature in Christ)

The result was unimaginable; fire fell.

2 Chronicles 7:1 “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.”

Our Christian life should follow that sequence as in the parenthesis above; justification, repentance, sanctification and disciplined life; this leads to a life full of the fragrance/ savour of His glory;

2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour(or fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.”

When we allow our lives to follow this sequence, we will not live a religious life but Christ Himself is built in us.

2 Corinthians 2:15 “For we are to God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:”

Prayer is just an aspect of fellowshipping with God and not the totality. There are things that hinder answers to prayers;

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

From this passage, pride of the heart tops the list and what God desires is humbleness of heart. A man could be proud and not know. He would rather think he is trying to ensure equity and justice; this is the work of the flesh. Only God could expose such demon. From pride other vices spring up which are also listed in the passage. Lack of prayer is next to pride and its root is in pride. For somebody to lead a congregation in powerful prayers does not mean that is the person’s private life. The next is not seeking the face of the Lord genuinely; rather, people seek miracles. Many stand in the place of prayer but their hearts are far away from where they stand. The Spirit of God revealed this to us by the mouth of Prophet Isaiah;

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men (religious activities as taught by men):”

They receive prayer points but their hearts are far from whom they are praying to; rather they are thinking of how to use the testimony to satisfy the lust of the flesh. This is where Satan comes in to take advantage of such. He gives them the smell of breakthrough knowing that they will drift away from God when they have it. So many testimonies are not really from God. Any testimony that takes you far from God is not from God but satanic gimmick to divert the path of righteousness. But God’s testimony will take you closer to God. Jesus gave a clue to where our hearts should go;

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Our duty is to seek the face of God and His righteousness and God’s duty is to reward us in healing, deliverance and other splendors. Unfortunately, we seek the additions by all means. This is why most are always going back to square one.

The last thing mentioned is “turn from their wicked ways”. This simply means repent, make a U-turn from your own ways which are destructive. Such wicked ways are as stated in;

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The result of Solomon’s prayers and dedication was announced all over the world. This attracted Queen of Sheba in chapter9.

2 Chronicles 9:3-4 “And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, … there was no more spirit in her.”

When she saw the Temple and Solomon’s wisdom, she ‘fainted’, i.e. amazed (2Chron9:4 “no more spirit in her”). We are able to get result only if we make our ways right and be in order as Solomon was;

2 Chronicles 8:16 “Now all the work of Solomon was prepared (or well-ordered) unto (from) the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.”

You are the temple of God; you must be constantly cleaned or refreshed by the WORD of God and perfected by the Spirit of God in you. To pray hard is not the same as to pray fervently (glowingly). One can pray very hard but without the required fire. Fervent prayer takes root in God’s word and carries the fire of faith; this is what moves mountains.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is 2Chronicles10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA