Saturday, September 20, 2014

1 Kings 8:38 -- On Figuring Ourselves Out

"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:"
1 Kings 8:38


This is the middle of a request to God to listen to our prayers and supplications and forgive and help us.  I like the aspects of our part of that shown in this verse.  One part is prayer and supplication, another step is to know the plague of our own hearts, and another step is to spread our hands toward the temple.  Good steps.  Prayer helps us learn from God, and also helps us to understand and ask for our own needs.  Knowing the plague of our own hearts helps us to be humble, to know how to change, and know how to ask for forgiveness.  And spreading our hands towards the temple helps us to bond with other people, serve them, and work on our own perfection.
Knowing the plague of our own hearts is not always the biggest challenge in these steps, but it is the challenge that is unique to us, that only we can figure out.  Sometimes we don't really want to think about it, but when we have the fortitude, it's good to figure ourselves out a little, especially our weaknesses, so that we know what to work on, and what to ask for when we are pleading with God for help with the things that we can't handle ourselves.
Today, let's take these steps.  Let's pray, let's figure out our problems, and let's take action to change.  As we look to God to help us solve it all, he will listen to our supplications and help us.

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