Monday, October 10, 2011

A Beautiful Prayer

I Chronicles 29:10-13

Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

I confess to not spending much time reading the Chronicles. However, I recently determined to push myself through them. In doing so, I've come across some wonderful passages, none more of a blessing to me than the above.

The setting for this passage is the collection for the construction of the temple. The people of Israel have just given willingly toward the building. David prays in joyful response to the collection. David's prayer continues after verse thirteen, but it is these first few verses that stand out to me.

David correctly praises the Lord for both who he is and what he has done. David understands God's position as creator and head. God is the giver of all good things. God's name is worthy of praise.

I suppose this is a good reminder to me that even semi-obscure biblical passages hold wonderful treasures for us. This prayer is one of the most beautiful I've ever read. David designs it as a blessing to God, but every time I read it I feel blessed. The reason? I'm reminded that we serve a God who can be accurately described as having, "the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty."

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