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Solomon’s Magnificent Temple
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of self, and his exaltation of the infinite Creator—all these traits of
character were evident at his dedication prayer when he knelt as a
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humble petitioner. Christ’s followers today should guard against the
tendency to lose the spirit of reverence and godly fear. They should
approach their Maker with awe, through a divine Mediator. The
psalmist has declared:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Psalm 95:6
Both in public and in private worship it is our privilege to bow on
our knees when we offer our petitions to God. Jesus, our example,
“knelt down and prayed.”
Luke 22:41
. His disciples, too, “knelt
down and prayed.”
Acts 9:40
. Paul declared, “I bow my knees to
the Father.”
Ephesians 3:14
. Daniel “knelt down on his knees three
times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God.”
Daniel
6:10
.
True reverence for God comes from a sense of His infinite great-
ness and a realization of His presence. The hour and place of prayer
are sacred because God is there. “Holy and awesome is His name.”
Psalm 111:9
. Angels veil their faces when they speak that name.
With what reverence, then, should we take it on our lips!
After beholding the vision of the angel, Jacob exclaimed, “The
Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. ... This is none other than
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
Genesis 28:16, 17
.
In what he said during the dedication services, Solomon tried
to remove the superstition about the Creator that had clouded the
minds of the heathen. The God of heaven is not confined to temples
made with hands, yet He would meet with His people by His Spirit
when they assembled at the house dedicated to His worship.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; ...