Integrity and Obedience (1 Kings 9:4–5)
And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
—1 Kings 9:4–5
I want to lead us to pray exactly these words over each of our lives. You think about what God just called Solomon to: integrity of heart. Don’t you want integrity of heart in your life? What a phrase—that there would be a holiness and a wholeness to your heart before God! That’s the phrase in the very beginning, and then: “if you will walk before me with uprightness.”
Don’t you want that to be true of your life? Righteousness before God, doing according to all that God has commanded us. I want to do all that God commands me to do. Keeping my statutes and my rules, God says, and then he promises him, “When you do these things, I will establish a royal throne.” So that was the promise to Solomon. And we see all throughout God’s Word his promises that we will experience God’s blessing, abundant life. Not everything is going perfectly for us in this life—so let’s not have an unrealistic, unbiblical perspective of blessing. Jesus was blessed, had abundant life, walked with the Father, and he was crucified.
We have many persecuted brothers and sisters around the world who are walking in obedience to God, and they’re being imprisoned or slandered in different ways. So, yes, there will be challenges in this world, but there is life and peace and joy and a depth of abundance and fulfillment that’s found when we walk before God with integrity of heart, uprightness, doing according to all that he’s commanded us as we keep his statutes and his rules. So, God, we pray together that this would be true in our lives.
Today, we pray that you would help us to walk before you. God, I pray for every single person listening right now—and for myself—with integrity of heart. God, may our hearts be pleasing to you: our desires, our affections, our thoughts, the things that no one else sees. May we have integrity of heart and uprightness. God, we pray for righteousness before you, uprightness in your eyes. And, God, we pray that you’d help us to do today all that you’ve commanded us to do.
Help us to walk in obedience to your Word, your statutes, your rules. Lord, help us to keep them. Help us to turn aside from every sin and temptation we face. Help us to obey you in ways that lead to blessing in you and from you. Oh, God, we want it to be said of our lives tomorrow that on this day we walked before you with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing all that you commanded us to do, keeping your statutes and rules.
And then we want that to be true of us the next day and the next day and the next day by the power of your Holy Spirit in us. We pray this. And, God, we pray this for other brothers and sisters in Christ. And we pray this for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. God, especially for those who are walking in obedience to you and experiencing imprisonment or slander or hardship or persecution or suffering because of their obedience to you.
A Prayer for the Galeshi People
God, we pray specifically today for the Galeshi people of Iran, this small people group in Iran in need of the gospel, knowing, oh God, that there are many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Iran for whom it is hard to follow you, where following you means suffering in many different ways.
God, we pray for the spread of the gospel to the Galeshi people through obedient brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray for your blessing on them so that the Galeshi people might experience blessing in hearing and believing, trusting in the gospel.
Oh, God, we pray all of this straight from your Word in 1 Kings 9. May this be true of us: integrity of heart, uprightness, doing all you commanded us to do, keeping your statutes and your rules. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
