1st Kings 8-9
Hey everyone! Like Carly said yesterday, this is not her, it's her friend! (I would put my name but it's kind of unique and not very many people have it so I shall not.) I'm not used to doing this, so bare with me here and we can do it. :)
You can read today’s chapters at www.bible.com or with the BIBLE READER oh so conveniently located to the left.
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Let's get started!!!
So in today’s chapters King Solomon finished the temple and they made a TON of animal sacrifices to honor God. Then Solomon made a prayer that was about 2 pages long but had some really good things in it.
One thing I really agree with that was in his prayer was when he said "Yes, hear us from Heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive." I love that line (And not just because it rhymes ;) ) because I truly believe that God hears every single prayer we make and I also believe that our prayers don't have to be like Solomon's. (11 paragraphs long...)
We can make quick "help!" prayers and "Thank you!" prayers throughout the day. I used to think of praying as a chore that everyone did but some things have happened to me recently and I have a whole new out look on things. I've changed a lot and I realize now that praying isn't meant to be all formal and strict. Praying is just talking to God; it's like talking to your best friend or your family.
Don't hold anything back from God, he wants to hear it all, the good the bad and the ugly, he WANTS to be close to you and hear your voice and thoughts. You’re his daughter/son and he cares for you with sooooooooooo much love! I truly believe this. This might sound weird and strange and you might think I'm a freak for this but when I pray, I don't say "Dear Lord" like most people, I say something along the lines of "Hi Papa" or "Daddy I need to tell you..." My prayers are so much more personal now and I don't know about you but I think that’s a good thing.
You might not agree with me but hey, everyone has his or her own opinion right?
But there is something in Solomon's prayer that I do not agree with. He says something about the people fearing the Lord is good. I do not agree with this. I have no doubt in the world that it's in the Bible for a reason, everything is in the Bible for a reason (see devotion from yesterday :) ) but I do NOT agree that fearing God is a good thing! I guess it's a 'times have changed' thing and I wont go on a crazy rampage about this because it's my opinion and I have no right to say if it's right or wrong but in my opinion you shouldn't fear God, you should talk to him and ask him for forgiveness. One thing I've learned is that God doesn't hold grudges if you ask for forgiveness :D
There’s one more thing I want to get in from today’s reading. It says that King Solomon built the first temple of the Lord, but that Solomon's father, King David, wanted to build one but God said no to him. God said that one of David’s sons would build the temple. David took this news very well. Instead of getting mad or sad David praised God for blessing his family. I think this is a great lesson! Sometimes it's so hard when something happens in your life and you're just like "I can't believe God did this to me!" and you feel like God is punishing you and that everyone else has it easy. Or when the one thing you wanted so badly never happened. Do you feel like that sometimes? I know I do. But really God is NOT punishing you, everything happens for a reason. That line is really over used but I stand behind it. It was really hard for me to except that sentence earlier this year
I said earlier that some things have happened recently that had changed me, well earlier this year I lost my grandmother. We had been close and it hit me really hard since I had just gotten over my other grandmother passing away a couple years ago. Then my friend passed away at a very young age and in a violent way, then a close family friend passed away unexpectedly. All this death was around me and I grew distant and depressed. My point of telling you this is that they are all in a better place now and I am so much closer to God now because of all this happening. Sometimes things happen and at the time it seems like your world is over and no one understands, but someone does.
Their name is God.
He knows how you feel and what your going through, don't get mad at him for someone you love passing away or something bad happening. It took me a LONG time and many nights screaming and crying myself to sleep to realize this.
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before things can get any better.
And I'm not saying that when something bad happens to immediately be all "Woohoo!" and happy but don't get mad at God. All I'm trying to say is to be like David and turn it around! Sometimes you have to feel that anger and sadness first but don't spend the short amount of time we have on this Earth being sad or mad! Whatever you're feeling, tell him, tell him why your so mad/sad. Tell him when you’re happy! Tell him when you’re excited! Tell him everything all the time!
Am I making any sense????
Sometimes it just seems like the world is against you and that nothing is going right, but really its just a chapter in the book. Don't slam the book shut and chuck it against the wall, just turn the page :)
Someone once told me that God doesn't make anything happen in your life that he knows you can't handle. That doesn't mean you wont fail sometimes, it mean that sometimes you HAVE to fail, sometimes you HAVE to experience that loss of a loved one or that bad grade on a test or losing that job.
And when your life gets stressful and crazy remember that, God knows you can get through this, you don't have to do it alone, God is always with you when this is happening. It's all for a reason that we can't see but God knows :) He will take care of you no matter what. When your world is crashing down pray to him. He can help you so much; all you need to do is ask.
Wow that was long. I did not intend it to be so long…oh well :)
I really hope I made sense…If you have any questions, comment and I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities :)
Go in peace!!!
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