The Second Level - Chapter 4

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I want to capture the heart of the person in this scripture. Turn to Chapter 10 of I Kings.

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

There was no more spirit in her. I don’t even know if we can picture that kind of wealth. Solomon was the wealthest man in the world. His wisdom, Solomon was the wisest man in the world.

the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord's temple, it took her breath away.
Holman Christian Standard Bible.

5 she was breathless. She was also amazed Message Bible, New Living Bible


6 And she said to the king, The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

Jesus said…

The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Matt 12:42

When we come to worship, whether we come from the far ends or we come from five minutes away, do we recognize? Do we recognize? Do we see the food of His table, and it takes our breath away? Do we see the seating of His Government in the Church and does it take our breath away? This was a woman who was a ruler herself, it says that her train was loaded down with spices, it was loaded down with everything the world could offer. And when she came into another realm where God had given a king wisdom, this queen had to sit down. They had to pull in a chair for her, her knees went weak.

Do your knees go weak when you come into worship? Have you ever found yourself at a loss for words? Have you ever caught a glimpse of God moving in our midst during worship where you just don’t want to say anything? Where you don’t want the noise of your breathing to interrupt what God is doing in your heart? That’s true worship, this is true worship. There is a greater than Solomon here this morning!

And when she had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, when we have seen all the wisdom of God, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, the clothing, not of the King but of His servants. Do the robes of righteousness you see Him putting over your brother, your sister, or the person sitting next to you do they take your breathe away? When you see the sacrifice of other people in worship, there’s people that are more passionate then you, do we look at them and go, "man is that guy weird," or do we say? "Wow this God must be something! Look at the way that guy worships Him."

Well, when the Queen of Sheba caught her breathe, after they brought her whatever, a little of wine or little water or something to refresh her spirit. If you go on in that chapter ever, if you ever get in your Bible again and go back to I kings chapter 10 you will find out that her response to being overwhelmed, was that she sent her servants out to those camels, and she brought more spice than had ever been brought into Israel. We are not talking here about Oregano, we are not talking about Thyme, we are talking about Myrrh and Frankincense. The things required to make incense, that would go on the altar, of that temple, that she was so impressed with his sacrifice to worship God. And she brought as it were the "mother load" of incense building materials into Solomon’s kingdom so that he could lavish more (worship)on his God. And it was so significant, that the scribes wrote it down the chronicles of the kings in I Kings chapter 10 that never had more spices been brought into Israel.

And how does that apply to prayer? Well the Bible says that the prayers of the saints are like incense that goes up before God.

So what will happen in this House, is when we get ‘breathless’ in His presence, like the Queen of Sheba did, Were also going to bring out of our treasury more spices then have ever been brought into the house before. We are going to bring out prayer. We are going to bring out worship. It is going to be like incense that goes up from us.

We are in Chapter four.

Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon

You now have some acquaintance with praying the Scripture and beholding the Lord or Waiting in His presence. Let us assume that you have practiced these two ways of coming to the Lord. Let us say that you have passed through the awkward stage of this and have come into real experience.

Now let us move on to consider a deeper level of experience with the Lord; that is a deeper level of prayer. Some have described this second level as an experience of “faith and stillness.” Others have referred to it as the “Prayer of Simplicity” I prefer the latter name.

Let us say you have grown accustomed to praying the Scripture and to waiting quietly in the sense of the Lord’s presence, that these have made themselves part of your life. If this is so, you have found that it is now much easier to come to the Lord and to know His presence. But I would like to remind you once more that, what was written previously was written to those who are just beginning to know Christ.

When you first began, it was difficult for you to recall your wandering mind. It was difficult to continually turn inward to your spirit. Little by little, these matters have become much more natural and simple. And now prayer has come to be easy, sweet and natural—as well as delightful. You gradually recognize that prayer is the true way, the real way of finding God. And once you have found Him, you proclaim joyfully. “His name is an ointment poured forth” (Song of Solomon1:3)

You might think that I would now encourage you to continue on this very successful path. Instead, I am going to encourage you to change your course just a little. In so doing, once more you are going to come to a point that might have some discouragement in it. Starting out on a new path to explore the Lord always means encountering some difficulties at the outset! Therefore I would encourage you to have a believing heart from this point on. You must not be discouraged. There will be a little difficulty along the way as you seek to go into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Now with these words behind us, let us look at this new level of prayer.

First of all, come into the Lord’s presence by faith. As you are there before Him, keep turning inward to your spirit until your mind is collected and you are perfectly still before Him. Now when your attention is finally turned within and your mind is set on the Lord, simply remain quiet before Him for a little while.

Perhaps you will begin to enjoy a sense of the Lord’s presence. If that is the case, do not try to think if anything. Do not try to say anything. Do not try to do anything! As long as the Lord’s presence continues, just remain there. Remain before Him exactly as you are.

The awareness of His presence will eventually begin to decrease. When this happens, utter some words of love to the Lord or simply call on His name. Do this quietly and gently with a believing heart. In so doing, you will be once again be brought back to the sweetness of His presence. You will discover that you once more return to that sweet place of utter enjoyment, that you have just experienced! Once the sweetness of His presence has returned to its fullest, again be still before Him.

You should not seek to move as long as He is near.

What is the point? The point is this: There is a fire within you and it ebbs and grows. That fire, when it ebbs must be gently fanned, but only gently. Just as soon as that fire begins to burn, again cease all your efforts. Otherwise you may put out the flame. This, then is the second level of prayer—a second level in experiencing Jesus Christ.

When you have come to the end of this time, always remain there before the Lord, quietly for a little while. Also, it is very important that all your prayer be done with a believing heart. Praying with a believing heart is more important than anything else that has to do with prayer!

Before we finish this chapter, I would like to talk with you just a moment about the motive of your heart in your seeking the Lord. After all, why do you come to the Lord? Do you come to Him for the sweetness? Do you come to Him because it is enjoyable to be in the Lord’s presence? Let me recommend a higher way.

As you come to the Lord to pray, bring a full heart of pure love, a love that is not seeking anything for itself. Bring a heart that is seeking nothing from the Lord, but desires only to please Him and to do His will.

Let me illustrate. Consider the servant. The servant takes good care of His master; but if he does it only to receive some reward, he is not worthy of any consideration whatsoever. So dear Christian, as you come to the Lord to pray, do not come for spiritual enjoyment. Do not even come to experience your Lord.

Then What? Come just to please Him.

Once you are there, if He chooses to pour out some great blessing, receive it. But if, instead, your mind wanders, receive that. Or if you have a difficult time in prayer, receive that. Joyfully accept whatever He desires to give. Believe that whatever happens is what He wants to give you!

Let me repeat that, for it is very important! It is especially important to you for any future growth in experiencing Christ. Believe by faith that whatever happens is His desire for you at that time.

When you have come to the Lord this way, you will find that your spirit is at peace not matter what your condition. When you have learned to come to the Lord with this attitude, you will not be upset if the Lord withdraws Himself from you. The times of spiritual dryness will be the same to you as the times of spiritual abundance. You will treat them both the same. Why? Because you will have learned to Love God just because you love Him, not because of His gifts, nor even His precious presence.
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.