"What prayer and supplication soever 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:
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 Kings 8:38-39
The phrase "know every man the plague of his own heart" is interesting to me. I think that we do have heart plagues. Things that seep into our hearts... or maybe they *start* there. I don't know. Whatever way they get there though, those are the things that keep us from God... the things that prevent us from giving our hearts wholly to God. It's interesting that it talks about prayer from those that know the plagues of their own hearts. I think recognizing those things that are within us that are blocking our relationships with God is important self-insight, and could make for a pretty sincere prayer if we're ready to fight those dragons. :)
To conclude this selection, we're reminded that God knows our hearts (and therefore our plagues too) and that he will forgive us, and provide for us according to our ways. I think referring to reaping what we sow, and being blessed as long as we are going in the correct direction (toward God).
No matter what the plagues of our hearts are, they can be overcome. God is there, knowing as no one else can the struggles that we each have... those things that are buried in our hearts, that are SO important to us. They are extremely hard to overcome (which is why we have the plague analogy... possibly contagious/hard to cure/probably lethal if we don't get help), but *with* his help, we can overcome any of those personal dragons... no matter how big or scary, or fire-breathing. :)
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