The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 20 October 2026 – Pray Without Ceasing
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TOPIC – Pray Without Ceasing
READ: 1 Kings 8:44-53
44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:
45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:
52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.
53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
THE MESSAGE:
As we conclude Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the temple, we need to think of prayer as something we cannot live without. The importance of prayer as a means of communicating with God is emphasised here, highlighting the power of approaching God with humility. There is a confidence displayed by Solomon over what God is capable of doing in the temple. We must learn from this because God is more than able to take care of us.
Trusting God is the best we can do in our daily living. In times of facing battles against the enemy, sin, or exile, we should remember that “If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name—then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause” (verses 48 & 49). We are reminded of the need to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and pray fervently (James 5:16). If we look up to God in everything by prayer, He is sure to help us out in everything.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, let Your ears be open to my prayers. Please hear me when I call. Amen.
