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1 Chronicles 23:24-32 – Praying through the Bible #131 – A Prayer that is Paid For
Do you get paid to do your job? Of course, you do, that is why you work. If they stopped paying, you would quit. That is, unless, you enjoy your job so much it is like a hobby you get paid to do. They say if you enjoy your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. For that kind of job, you would do it regardless of the pay. You just might have to work another job to compensate for the one you’d do for free.
As a preacher, I get paid. I have also not been paid, and have turned down money. I have been underpaid; and some have argued overpaid. Joking around, I tell people I don’t go to church because I want to, but because I am paid to. I also “complain” my Boss makes me work on Sundays! Some joke back that I get paid to work only 1 or 2 days a week. Some are not joking! Getting serious, I like to tell people that I do not get paid to preach, but I get paid so I can preach. I hope you can understand the difference.
What if someone asked you to pray for them, would you? What if they offered to compensate you for your time in prayer? You’d turn them down, right? What if someone promised they would pray for you if you paid them to? You’d be both befuddled and offended. Sadly, that sounds just strange enough to be real on some televangelist TV show. And yet….
David is a great organizer. After moving the Tabernacle to Jerusalem, he gets busy organizing things and people. That includes the Levites. Basically, David put them out of a job. Their main responsibility before was to move the Tabernacle and its furniture. In the wilderness, this was a heavy responsibility, both literally and spiritually. Since “the LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He has come to stay in Jerusalem forever” (1 Chronicles 23.25); “the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service” (23.26). When it became permanent in Jerusalem, both in Tabernacle and Temple form, David took away their work. So he assigned them new jobs along with some of the old (23.25-32). One of their new responsibilities was to “stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening” (23.30). Considering the tithes of the Israelites supported the priests and the Levites, simply put, the Levites got paid to pray.
What if you got paid to pray? What if you got paid to attend church? What if when you walked through the doors, you received a ticket with a number, and at the end of services the winning number would be called out? Would you be more involved? Would you go with a different attitude? Of course, all that would be totally unbiblical today. But in the days of David, the Levites got paid to pray. It was their job. What a great job.
Prayer Challenge: Attitude is not everything, but it is most everything. God doesn’t pay us to worship or serve Him. But Christ did pay the price so we could. When we pray, Thank Jesus for paying the price we could not afford.
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