Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive. – 2 Chronicles 6:21

Today's Scripture Reading (December 7, 2025): 2 Chronicles 6

In what direction should you pray? Admittedly, for me, it is a strange question and one I have not given much thought to. Many years ago, I taught a class on Islamic Prayer, and at the end of the evening, I offered those who attended the opportunity to pray facing east. My suggestion was that, while Muslims in my part of the world traditionally face east toward Mecca, we could face east toward Jerusalem. We did, but it was not a lasting tradition. Most often, I pray in the direction that I am sitting, standing, or driving (I promise, I keep my eyes open when I pray and drive).

Some argue that we should pray toward the west, not the east, because the Shechinah, the Presence of God, resides there. The Talmud, a central text that includes the teachings, opinions, and debates of thousands of rabbis, instructs that we should pray to the south for wisdom and to the north for wealth. Expanding on this teaching, Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (220-250 CE) taught that "One should always face south because from becoming wise, one will become rich."

The author of Chronicles writes that Solomon believed in praying toward the Temple: "Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place." What that means is that if you are living outside of Israel, then pray in the approximate direction of Israel (from where I live, that means praying toward the east). If you are inside Israel, then pray in the general direction of Jerusalem. And if you are in Jerusalem, pray toward the Temple. Today, many Jews come to the "Wailing Wall" or the "Western Wall," a retaining wall that draws many for prayer, believing it was part of the Second Temple, which became known as Herod's Temple. While today Christian and Jewish prayer is prohibited on the Temple Mount, we can still pray toward it, recognizing its history.

So, in which direction should we pray? I am not sure that it matters. God is everywhere, and maybe the most important thing that we need to recognize is that God continues to live in you and me. Paul's famous warning about taking communion is actually a reflection of this concept. "For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves" (1 Corinthians 11:29). The Body of Christ that Paul is referring to is Christ in you and Christ in me. And when we are together, even just two or three of us, we make up the contemporary Temple. When we pray, recognizing the Christian community that surrounds us, the Temple is here, and we pray recognizing that the Temple and Christ are in us, shaping us to be more like Him. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 7