THAT THINE EYES MAY BE OPEN TOWARD THIS HOUSE NIGHT AND DAY

The prayer of King Jehoshaphat that is recorded in the 20^th chapter of the second book of Chronicles in the Bible is extraordinary in its directness, honesty, simplicity, and power.  In his prayer Jehoshaphat references another powerful prayer that was offered by an earlier king of the Israelites; and that prayer, in turn, represents an important provision that God has made that affects all of our prayers from that time till this, and even till the end of this world.

 

Jehoshaphat was a good king whose heart was after God.  He wasn’t a perfect king, but he was open to the Lord’s correction, and therefore God was able to direct him and bless him in marvelous and miraculous ways.

 

Jehoshaphat had reigned in Jerusalem for about 16 years when a report came to him that the Moabites and the Ammonites were coming against him to war with a great multitude of armed men.  Scripture reveals to us what Jehoshaphat’s reaction was to this news: “And Jehoshaphat feared…” (2 Chronicles 20:3).  This great king reacted in the same way that you or I might react when we receive very bad news: with fear.  What he did with his fear set Jehoshaphat apart from many other kings that reigned before and after him.  The Bible account goes on to say that Jehoshaphat, “…set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” (2 Chronicles 20:3).  This is what we, as believers, must do when we are afraid or full of anxiety: we must seek the Lord, even with fasting, if need be, to focus our attention on the One Who can make a difference in our circumstances.  It was this crisis that drove Jehoshaphat to pray this powerful prayer, and to see the miraculous results of God’s response.

 

Jehoshaphat’s proclamation of a time of fasting, and his example of wholeheartedly seeking the Lord, had a positive result among his people.  “And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 20:4).  We shouldn’t ever be shy about asking for God’s help in our lives.  Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8), and the Apostle Paul also encourages us to, “Come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  God is always moved to action when we trust Him completely and ask Him for His direction and help in every situation that we face.  There is nothing too small for God to deal with.  We think it is a sign of our maturity as Christians to not take things to God in prayer and, instead, try to handle them ourselves; but it was Jesus Who taught His followers to become like little children if they wanted to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 10:15).  Jehoshaphat was very transparent about his fear, powerlessness, and indecision.  He didn’t even try to act like he had it all together for the sake of the people – he just wanted to be real with God and with man, and he believed that was what God wanted him to be. 

 

The portion of Jehoshaphat’s prayer that references an earlier prayer by another great king is found in the seventh through ninth verses of 2 Chronicles 20.  It reads, “Art not Thou our God, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend forever?  And they dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name, saying, if, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy presence, (for Thy name is in this house,) and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help.”  Jehoshaphat is here referring to the prayer of King Solomon which he prayed upon the dedication of the first permanent temple that was built at Jerusalem.  On that day, when the house of God was completed and the priests had offered their many offerings and the ark of the covenant of God was brought into the Holiest Place, the Spirit of God descended upon the temple in the form of a great cloud and the priests had to flee the building because the glory of the Lord was so fearsome.  It was at that time that Solomon offered his prayer.  You can find his prayer in 1 Kings 8:12-53.  Starting in verse 29, Solomon prays some very specific things regarding this house and the prayers that would be prayed toward this house from that time forth.  He asks, “That Thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day.”  He reminds God that He said, “My name shall be there [on this house],” and asks “that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward this place.”  Solomon then lists several scenarios in which God’s people would be asking for the Lord’s blessing and help.  He mentions trespasses between neighbors and asks that God judge between the wrongdoer and the righteous man and deal with each accordingly.  He asks that when Israel’s enemies best them in battle because God’s people have sinned against Him in some way, that if they will confess their sin and turn again to the Lord that He would hear and forgive them.  He asks God to hear the prayers of His people when they are experiencing draught, pestilence, insect infestation, besieging armies, or sickness of any kind.  He also asks that God will hear the prayers of strangers who are not of Israel when they prayed to Him in this house.  Finally, Solomon asks that God would hear the prayers of Israel when they go against their enemies and give them victory; but if they have sinned against the Lord and are carried away captive by their enemies, that if they will confess their sins and humble themselves before their Maker, that God would forgive and restore them.

 

When King Solomon had finished his prayer, then God spoke to him and said, “I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before Me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put My name there forever; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually.” (1 Kings 9:3).  What a glorious statement God makes here, but He then qualifies it with some conditions.  He tells Solomon, “If thou wilt walk before Me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep My statutes and My judgments: then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever.” (vs. 4,5a).  God then continues by saying, “But if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye or your children, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for My name, will I cast out of My sight.” (vs. 6,7a).  All of God’s promises are contingent on man’s faithfulness in serving and following Him.

 

It was this prayer of King Solomon that Jehoshaphat refers to in his prayer.  He reminds God of this fantastic promise to hear and respond to the prayers that are prayed to His house and in His name.  As amazing as Jehoshaphat’s prayer is, God’s response is even better.  The Spirit of the Lord fell upon one of the Levites who were praying along with Jehoshaphat and the rest of the people who were gathered in the temple.  This Levite began to prophesy God’s answer to the people.  He said, “Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15).  Israel did not even have to fight in this battle, but God caused their enemies to slay one another before Jehoshaphat even got on the scene!

 

As I read and meditated on this story and the great prayer of Solomon, I thought about this: Solomon and the children of Israel were not very faithful in following the Lord’s ways.  They fell into idolatry and immorality repeatedly until God was forced to bring judgment upon them.  Even the glorious Temple of Solomon which his father David had prayed and prepared for was destroyed by the Chaldeans.  Thus, in the natural realm of things, Solomon’s prayer was nullified because there was no temple then to pray in or toward.  But then I thought of the many things that are written concerning the temple of God in the New Testament.  First, we Christians are referred to as the temple of God: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  If any man defile the temple of God, Him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17).  And in Ephesians, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in Whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:16-22).  Peter also teaches that believers make up this new spiritual House of God, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.” (1Peter 2:5).  And finally, John says, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.” (Revelation 3:12).  I realized that, as all earthly things will one day fail and pass away, so must even those things that were blessed by God for a time to serve as types and shadows of more enduring, heavenly things.  God’s temple on earth was just a foreshadowing of a much more glorious temple that is made without hands.  The Church of Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ universal, is that temple.  All believers, both Jews and Gentiles are built together as stones in a building to form a spiritual house which God recognizes as the place where His glory will rest.  Because of this, Solomon’s original prayer – and God’s answer to it – takes on a whole new significance. 

 

When God said to Solomon, “I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put My name there forever; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually.” He was ultimately referring to the Church that Jesus built when He called the Apostles and asked them to follow Him. 

 

We, therefore, as members of that Church, and Lively Stones in that glorious Temple, have received a great promise.  God’s eyes and His heart are always open to the prayers that we pray as members of His Church, His Temple, His Body!  There is great power given when God’s people join in prayer in Jesus’ name.  “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. (1 Peter 3:12). 

 

Believers in Jesus Christ are His body on earth.  We are called to be the expression of Christ’s will on earth, just as Jesus expressed His Father’s will when He walked on earth in flesh and blood.  It behooves us not to take this responsibility lightly.  We must follow the Lord’s example in all things so that we can be examples to the world.  We despise the spirit of grace when we live lives that are no different and no more righteous than the unbelievers around us.  It is time that we Christians wake up to the fact that God wants to purify to Himself a peculiar (unique) people who are zealous of good works.  Jesus gave Himself for our sins so that He might deliver us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4).  He has given us power to become the sons of God!

 

The power that God has given His people when they pray as His Body and as His Temple is unprecedented.  When they pray in the Father’s will, they will see extraordinary things take place.  We, as ministers of the Gospel, have been given authority in Christ Jesus to heal, to deliver, and to remit and retain sins.  “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.  And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23).  I believe that the church today is living far below its potential in Christ.  As our eyes are open to the possibilities and promises that are given to us in scripture, I pray that our faith will be inspired in greater ways, and we will believe God for the miraculous.  Nothing has changed from the first century church that had such great power to our present-day church except the lack of faith that present day Christians have.  “Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain.” (Jeremiah 3:3).  Just as God told Solomon that if he would not remain faithful to him, then God would cut him off and not honor His promise to him; even so, God is under no obligation to honor His promises to us if we will not follow Him.  God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah and said, “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1, 2). 

 

It is time for the Church to rise and be the Church!  It is time for God’s people to purify their hearts through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is time for Christians to embrace all that God has promised to them if they will only be willing and obedient.  It is truly extraordinary that God has given His Church such power, but it is even more wonderful to know that our names have been written in heaven, and that He will call us home one day to be with Him forever!

 

“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:18-20).