Gods Temple, house of the prayer for protection

One of the most obvious reasons to make a prayer for protection is when we face an enemy stronger or more numerous than us. The people of Israel were no different from any other nation in that they had to respond to multiple threats to their sovereignty coming from neighboring countries that considered Israel as a small but formidable opponent. Yet we know that their strength was a result of Gods miraculous intervention, How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?. Unfortunately, time and time again Israel lost sight of their true Helper and sought refuge in political treaties, wealth or marriages as a means to keep their autonomy. This led to many other sins, like idolatry, that eventually brought the nation to such a state of ruin that it almost disappeared completely. Only the grace of God prevented the disaster and got Israel back on its heels again. After Davids tumultuous reign, the nation had finally regained peace and prosperity under Solomons wise administration. Now it was time to take stock and set about the construction of the Temple envisioned and dreamed by David, which would eventually be built many years after his death.

Prayer for protection: Seek Gods protection in His temple

Now its the dedication of the temple, and King Solomon makes a long prayer in which reminds God of his promises made to Israel -and his father David in particular- thanking God at the same time for His mercy and loving-kindness. In this prayer for protection that King Solomon makes in favor of his people, the temple takes an extraordinary importance as a reminder of Gods presence. Its very significant how Solomon identifies the temple as the place from which Gods intervention emanates. It is even more important to note that the Church has taken the place of this ancient stone building as the channel through which Gods glory is manifest in the world under the new

covenant, but lets go back to Solomons prayer for protection to look at it a bit closer. This prayer is registered in 1 Kings, chapter 8, verses 23 to 53. The general tone of the prayer is set around the prosperity and protection of the people of Israel, and its also important to observe that the petitions formulated in this prayer correspond exactly with the promises that Moses has to remind the descendants of the people freed from slavery in Egypt as they are about to enter the promised land. In a way God is renewing the covenant made to their forefathers stressing once more that His blessings will only be bestowed upon a people that honor and obey their God. On the other hand, a serious warning is given to those who want to rely in the external tokens of Gods presence instead of the God who is with them. As futile and useless as the Ark of the Covenant resulted to those who entrusted their fate to it during the war against the Philistines, so the temple will be turned into rubble when the people of God will change the glory of the living God for a worthless pile of stones. They dont worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles. We are the house of the living God, but as it happened with the temple, without God we can do nothing. When you make a prayer for protection, remember this house was built only for the Glory of God.