Day by Day

"May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day."
(1 Kings 8:57-61)

Following Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple, he stood and blessed the children of God, exhorting them in their covenant relationship with Jehovah God.

I love Solomon's statement, "And may these words of mine (his prayer) be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of his servant...as each day requires."

"...that He may maintain the cause of His servant, as each day may require..."

This makes me think of the Lord's grace - His unmerited favor, undeserved blessing.

And this, in turn, makes me think of 2 Corinthians 12:9, "And Jesus said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

"...that He may maintain the cause of His servant, as each day may require..."

God's grace is sufficient IF we will only rely upon it. He has a purpose - a cause - for each of us, and He knows that it is only by His grace that we can accomplish the task before us. Our Father keeps our prayers and supplications near to His heart day and night so that He might uphold, preserve and sustain His children.

He delights in giving us favor.
He delights in revealing His power.
He delights in "parting the Red Sea", if necessary, for His child to achieve his/her dreams.

Solomon concludes with, "Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day." (verse 61)

I love the wording used here: "LET your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God..." Walk blameless before Him. Be at peace with Him by walking in His statutes and keeping His commandments.

Do you remember this song from the 70s?

Day by day.
Day by day.
O dear Lord, three things I pray:
To love you more dearly,
To see you more clearly,
Follow You more nearly,
Day by day.

I believe this is a contemporary expression of Solomon's sentiment.

Perhaps this should be our theme song for the New Year...that He may maintain the cause of His servant as each day requires.

Bless You, Father! I so appreciate the fact that You are with us always, working in us, strengthening us...pouring out Your grace upon us so that we might accomplish Your purposes. You are wonderful, Lord. You are faithful, mighty and lovely to behold. You keep moving us forward toward the goal of Your high calling and for that we are grateful.