It's nice to see that this next lesson on Prayer was the dedication of the Temple. The last lesson 2 Samuel 7 showed the desire that David had to build the temple to the Lord. The Lord told David that he would not build the temple, but He promised David that his son would build a temple. "The LORD has kept the promise he made". This promised was fulfilled with David's son, Solomon. It is so reassuring that the Lord always keeps His promises. Verse 23 stood out to me: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way." I pray that I continue to always following in the Lord's way.

Just a side note, how amazing were all of the sacrifices in this chapter. At the end of the chapter, Israel sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats and earlier in verse 5 it states that there were so many sacrifices that they could not be recorded or counted. Wow! If 120,000 can be counted what number can't be counted.

"There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears." What a great faith David has here!! We find here another example of the Lord keeping his promises.

I looked up some more information on the Davidic Convenant which is being established here and I found this. -The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:10-13). The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.-

It's great to remember that God's grace is unconditional. The faith I've been give doesn't rely on anything I have done. It's a wonderful gift from God.

The first thing I thought of when I finished reading this chapter was how Moses is a great mediator (go-between) for the children of Israel. He spoke directly with God for the children of Israel. In this passage, Moses is a great example of how Christ is a mediator for us. Christ's role as a priest for us to speak for us. Christ says "No one can come to the Father except through Him.". Great reason to use "In Jesus Name" at the end of our prayers.


I went back through the verses and verse 11 really stood out to me. "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." I love this phrase, because sometime we need to just speak to God as a friend. It's nice to be able to just let out all my troubles or frustrations to the Lord, just like I would tell a friend who is near. It's also great to remember that He has promised to hear my prayers. Sometimes friends are needed just to listen.

Although I wouldn't say that in this prayer the Lord just listens. He is a true friend by providing Moses with comfort. I noticed that the Lord continously uses the phrase "I will". The Lord reassures Moses of His promises throughout the prayer. We can be comforted too, because we have the promise from the Lord that He will always be with us.

So, you ladies are amazing! Thank you picking up where I left off. I love the ideas that you have here. My hours at work have returned back to normal. I'll be posting shortly!

I am exactly the same way. I don't always remember to praise and adore God in my prayers. It is good to have examples and reminders of this.





This prayer also made me stop and think about just how amazing God's deliverance was for the Children of Israel. In the same way, He delivers us every day from the evil that surrounds us. The verses still hold true for us. "Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders."



I also really like verse 17 and 18 "You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. The LORD will reign for ever and ever." What an inheritance we have!

This is a great example of an Adoration prayer. When I was in school, I was taught the ACTS of prayer. A - Adoration, C- Confession, T - Thanksgiving, S - Supplication. I find myself falling into the supplication type of prayer quite often. It seems like I'm usually asking God to provide for me something I need or usually want. As we noticed with Abraham, there's nothing wrong with those prayers. The Lord tells us that we should always call upon Him, but we should also express prayers in adoration and thankfulness like Moses and Miriam does here.

I love that after Moses prayer. Miriam sings her praises "and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances". They were not afraid to express they're joy!

Although at the very end of this chapter, we see the children of Israel fall back into sin. They are complaining yet again. The constant battle between the old man and the new man. The sinner and the saint are at war within all of us.

I agree what a great example of confidence and his amazing persistence in prayer. He continues to ask the Lord, 6 times. So often I find myself looking for the answer to my prayer, I'm not always persistently praying to the Lord. The Bible says "Pray without ceasing." How easily I give up. Sometimes I find myself falling into the instant gratification category. Asking God and not seeing the answer right away, I say, oh, I guess He didn't want that for me. When actually He wants me to keep asking Him for it.

I know you already hit on this too, but I'll repeat how nice it is to know that the Lord wants us to ask Him for things. There are so many things that He wants us to turn to Him. The Lord even wants us to go to Him for the things that He has already promised to give us. Sometimes I forget those things when saying a prayer, this is something the Lord wants for me, I don't need to say "if it is Your will" here. I like the verses 17-19 in this chapter, where the Lord, know all things, says should I tell Abraham that I am going to destory Sodom. It was almost like a test for Abraham. The Lord wanted Abraham to plea for Sodom. May I go to the Lord in prayer when I am tested too.

Tamar, thanks for the comments on the beginning section, I didn't really look at it that way. I was a little more focused on Sarah's laugh. I often doubt what the Lord has planned for me.