Praying Through 1 & 2 Chronicles

1 & 2 Chronicles paints the best picture it can of the nation of Israel and the rise and fall of the kings. Many times the authors use yellows to brighten up the message, giving the impression of sunny days. However, the backgrounds skew towards dark black, as sinful leaders cloud Israel's future and eventually witness its downfall.1 Chronicles begins with nine chapters of genealogies, listing everyone from kings to gatekeepers. While the exercise feels tiresome and unnecessary, it reveals the goal of 1 & 2 Chronicles-to record the legacy of the Israel. One wonders if the writers weren't nervous about Israel's future and felt they needed a detailed record of its history, similar to how one writes an obituary, highlighting only the good parts. Take David, for example, unlike 2 Samuel which exposed all of David's sins, 1 Chronicles references some faults but skips over his major sins. While 1 & 2 Kings unveils the nitty-gritty history of Israel, 1 & 2 Chronicles gives a loving tribute to the nation, preferring the victories over the failures, but inevitably it must share the truth as this nation falls. PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIESWhat is God's word? Simply put, it is the word of God spoken to people long ago who transcribed that information into writing. That writing was meticulously passed down for thousands of years to speak to us today. How did God speak to people in Bible times? -Audibly - God spoke directly to people who heard him with their ears or in their heart.-Through situations - God spoke through the actions and events of this world.-Through people - God spoke through leaders, kings and prophets who proclaimed God's purpose.-Through prophecy - God spoke about future events, then those events happened.-Scripture - God spoke through his written word when people read those words later.-Prayer - God spoke through the prayers of people. PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIES recognizes the power of God speaking to mankind through His Scriptures. God's word was not only meant to be read, but applied. We must apply ourselves to these passages and adjust our lives to God's will. Today, God uses many ways to speak to us. This book incorporates those avenues of communication to ensure that God will speak to you during your quiet time with Him. Each section asks the reader to do six things.1. Read the passage. Open up the Bible and read His Word.2. Memorize the passage. A certain verse is given special focus. Commit it to memory. Remember it all day.3. Understand the passage. Background information (Time, Characters, Place, What's Happening) help you to understand the context of the section you are reading.4. Read the prayer. Read the written prayer as if it is from your heart. Don't recite them as words from a page, but a plea from your soul.5. Keep praying. Prayer prompts are there to help you continue praying about other specific areas. Listen to the Holy Spirit and see if there is more you need to pray.6. Journal your thoughts. In the space provided, write down some thoughts that you feel God said to your during this time. Every five sections I've included a "Prayer Thoughts" page to give you more room to journal your thoughts and write down prayer requests as you go through the Bible. Get ready to spend some quality time with God. Get ready for God to speak to you through His Word.