2 Chronicles 6:16, 17  “Now, LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ And now, LORD, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.” (NIV)

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A helpful prayer practice is to properly understand God’s promises and humbly repeat them to him. When we discover the blessings of God’s promises and the lack of fulfillment of those promises in our own lives, something is missing. Most of the time, people blame God, but the blame is on us. 

Read this full chapter and see how Solomon prays and reminds God of all he has promised in the past. Read the next chapter, beginning with verse 11, and see how God reminds Solomon of how to live in the fullness of his blessing, and how to know for sure that any lack of blessing is because of his sin. 

We cannot stand on the promises, as the old hymn says, unless we know what the promises are. We cannot expect God’s blessings unless we choose to live lives that God can bless. 

People seem irritated with God because He doesn’t do things their way or on their timing. They have subtly reversed roles with God. They act like they are God, commanding him like a genie in a lamp, rather than aligning and attuning their hearts and minds with his. 

When we know and understand God’s promises, and remind him of those promises, we likewise understand how we should now live. To live more blessed lives, we are not only to receive God’s blessings but to express those blessings to others. We are to cooperate with God in driving out of our lives anything that would strangle those blessings and hinder their reach beyond our own lives. 

1. Know God’s promises. 
2. Pray God’s promises. 
3. Receive God’s blessings. 
4. Bless everyone you meet. 

This is good praying. 

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I will pray God’s promises in full confidence, and I will become a channel of God’s blessing in whatever way he sees fit. 

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Our Father, teach me your promises that I may know your heart and mind. Empower me to live in the fullness of this blessing. May your goodness and grace overflow my life into the lives of others. Make me a blessing. Amen.