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Heavens
1 Kings 8:27 “For is it true: Elohim dwells on the earth? See, the heavens and the heavens of the heavens are unable to contain You, how much less this House which I have built!
Heaven or Heavens in Hebrew is Shamayim H8064 – šāmayim. The term heaven or Shamayim refer to different heavens, or all the heavens. There are 3 basic categories of heaven:
- Our Immediate Atmosphere, The air above us
- The space where the sun, moon and stars reside
- The home of YHWH
Let us step back to Genesis. Gen 1:1, “In the beginning YHWH created the heaven and the earth.” Then He created light and darkness. Then He split the waters on earth with a firmament (heaven), Gen 1:6-8 “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And YHWH made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And YHWH called the firmament Heaven.”
This “firmament” in Hebrew is called RAQIA H7549 – rāqîaʿ. Then in verse 14 and 15, “And YHWH said, Let there be lights in the firmament H7549 of the heaven H8064 to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament H7549 of the heaven H8064 to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”
Prayer
1 Kings 8:28 “Yet, shall You turn to the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O YHWH my Elohim, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today?
:30 when You hear in Your dwelling place, in the heavens? And shall You hear, and forgive?
:32 then hear in the heavens
:34 then hear in the heavens
:36 then hear in the heavens
:38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication made by anyone of all Your people Yisra’ĕl, each knowing the plague of his own heart, and shall spread out his hands toward this House,
:39 then hear in the heavens, Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and render unto everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know. Because You – You alone – know the hearts of all the sons of men,
:41 “Also, concerning a foreigner ” :43 hear in the heavens Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, so that all peoples of the earth know Your Name and fear You
:48 and they shall turn back to You with all their heart and with all their being .. and shall pray to You …
:49 then shall You hear in the heavens Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication
Prayer or Pray in Hebrew is Tepilla H8605 – tᵊp̄illâ, or Palal H6419 – pālal. The word prayer is used 6 times in this Chapter, each prayer for a certain scenario. The word hear is Shema H8085 – šāmaʿ (which we have covered many times, click here for more on Shema), meaning to LISTEN and ACT. Shema is used 12 times in this Chapter, and well over a 1,000 times in the old testament.
The first time we see someone praying, was in Genesis 20:17, “So H6419 Abraham prayed H6419 unto YHWH”, although just talking to YHWH is the same as praying, since the days of Adam and Eve where they walked and talked with YHWH.
Have you ever prayed to YHWH? Some might not know how to pray, or how to start. Prayer is just “talking to YHWH”, even though you can’t see Him, trusting that He can hear you. It is pouring your soul, your feelings and desires to the one who created your soul. It is not meditation or passive reflection. But praying, talking inside you, can be done in silence or with your mouth, it can be done anywhere anytime, there is no formal way to pray. There are no rules really.. except when you pray, start by addressing to Who – Start with “To our Father in Heaven”.
Yeshua taught His disciples how to pray, even if you do this daily, this short little prayer, each little sentence have so much meaning!
Matthew 6:9–13 / Luke 11:2-4
And it came to be while He was praying in a certain place, as He ceased, one of His taught ones said to Him, “Master, teach us to pray, as John also taught his taught ones.”
And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in the heavens,
let Your Name be set-apart,
let Your reign come,
let Your desire/will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
Do not lead us into trial, but rescue us from the wicked one.”
Here are some other prayers from Scripture that we can learn from:
- Numbers 6:24–26 – Aaron’s Priestly Blessing
- Psalm 19 – David’s Prayer in Response to YHWH’s Glorious Self-Revelation
- Psalm 23 – David’s Prayer for Comfort, Peace, and Trust
- Psalm 25 – David’s Prayer for Help, Guidance, and Forgiveness
- Psalm 37 – David’s Prayer for When the Wicked Prosper
- Psalm 42–43 – A Prayer for Hope During a Dry Season
- Psalm 51 – David’s Prayer for Mercy from a Broken and Sinful Heart
- Psalm 77 – Asaph’s Lament for the Day of Trouble
- Proverbs 30:7–9 – Agur’s Prayer for Godliness and Contentment
- 1 Kings 3:3–9 – Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
- 1 Chronicles 4:10 – Jabez’s Prayer for Blessing and Protection
- 2 Chronicles 20:6–12 – Jehoshaphat’s Prayer of Faith in Crisis
- John 17 – Yeshua’s High Priestly Prayer
- Acts 4:24–30 – A Prayer for Boldness in Sharing the Gospel of Yeshua
- Jude 1:24–25 – Praising YHWH for His Ability to Keep Us from Stumbling
High Places
1 Kings 11:7-10 Then Shelomoh built a high place for Kemosh the abomination of Mo’aḇ, on the hill that is east of Yerushalayim, and for Moleḵ the abomination of the children of Ammon. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and slaughtered to their mighty ones. Therefore YHWH was enraged with Shelomoh, because his heart had turned away from YHWH Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this word, not to go after other mighty ones. But he did not guard what YHWH had commanded.
The two words “high places” in Hebrew is actually one word, BAMAH H1116 – bāmâ, Like in Lev 26:30, where YHWH hates the high places/bama, “And I will destroy your high places, H1116 and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.”
The places are called high, for physical and spiritual reasons. People seeking a spiritual worship higher than themselves, and usually the worship is done in physical higher places as mountains, hills, altars or temples, or some structure that is elevated, but not always. The essential feature of a bamah is not its location or height, but its function as a site for religious purposes. Bamah is not just an ancient place or practice, it still exists today.
Exekiel 20:29-32 “And YHWH said to them, ‘What is this high place to which you go?’ So its name is called BAMAH to this day.” …Are you defiling yourselves in the way of your fathers? And do you whore after their abominations? … And what comes up in your spirit shall never be, when you say, ‘Let us be like the gentiles, like the tribes in other lands, serving wood and stone.’
