Give attention to your servant's prayers and his pleas for mercy, O Lord my God.
Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.
May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put Your Name there.
May You hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.
Hear the supplication of your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place.
Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
Will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!
The scriptures were taken from II Chronicles 6, Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple.
Reading these scriptures with these photographs captures my amazement even more that God would choose to reside in me and you and these earthly tents we possess for a moment. I truly believe that at least part of the reason God went to such great lengths with instructions for how the temple was to be built in the Old Testament was to show us how precious and valuable we are to Him. Do we get it?
Lord, help us to realize today the depths of love you feel for these temples--us. Even though the heavens, the highest heavens, cannot contain You, You choose to reside, to dwell, to fellowship in and through us. No wonder we burst at the seams--I am like a Raggedy Ann doll that has just been stuffed way too full. Oh, the wonder of You, Lord--the wonder of YOU!
I am linking to Spiritual Sundays, an inspirational place to visit.
Go here to read more about the Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, N.M. The information about the staircase is especially interesting.
