Prayer, Position, Politics

1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43

Context
This lection finishes a summer series on Samuel and David. David, first king of Israel, wanted to build a temple - but was told that he was too violent and that the job would be left to his son Solomon. Solomon has the temple built. Today's reading is a portion of the prayer of dedication.
The Temple was the key location for both religious and political life in the Ancient Near East. The Temple was seen as a place (or THE place) where heaven and earth connected. The strength of this conviction can be seen today in the struggle over Jerusalem - people are not just fighting over history, or buildings, they are fighting over THE PLACE where God and people connect.

Listening to the writer
Like most public prayers - especially in political settings with a religious state - the prayer speaks both to God and to the people present. Read through the entire prayer (not just the selection) and identify - what is each petition asking from God? What does each section say (between the lines) to those listening, or reveal about the writer? (There's a lot here. If you don't have a lot of time, focus on the section(s) that draw your interest.)
The prayer has some conflicting ideas within it - whether from the original author's theological struggles, or from edits over the years. For example, it's easy to find both "The Temple is THE PLACE to connect to God" and "God is not confined at the Temple." What other internal debates can you find?

Listening to God
Re-read the prayer and pick a petition that piques your interest - intellectual or emotional. Read the section again and sit quietly with it.
If you were God, would you answer "OK", "No", or "Sometimes" to the petition?
What do you think is God's answer?
If you like the petition, pray it to God. If you'd rather ask for the opposite - or something else - ask for that.
Spend some time sitting with this question: is God asking you to help fulfill the request you just made?

Miscellaneous Meanderings
I often find the "left out" verses of the lectionary (e.g., vv 31-40) much more interesting than the ones included. This prayer, like the Psalms, reflects the intent and beliefs of the pray-er, not necessarily those of God. And it seems that life would be simpler if the petitions were answered...
Wouldn't it be nice if the courts always worked, and the guilty were punished and the righteous rewarded? (vv 31-32) We wouldn't need to spend billions on liability insurance, "emotional distress", and legal fees. We could just send good doctors home with a pat on the back, and take away the license of those who were really guilty of malpractice.
Wouldn't it be nice if when "the good guys" lost, it was because they were really bad guys? And a simple admission of this fact would help them win wars again? (vv 33-34) Who needs a military-industrial complex when God is on our side?
Wouldn't it be nice if natural disasters could be solved by confessing our sin? (vv 35-36) (A more popular version today is to confess the sins of our neighbors...)

All of these attitudes are common in our culture. I don't think they're true. Sometimes the innocent are found guilty, like Jesus. Sometimes the good guys lose, like Job. Sometimes towers fall on people just because they were there, not because they were naughty. I don't much like it, but that's the way it is.

On the other hand, as a guilty bad guy, I'm also quite fond of grace.

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