VANITY OF VANITIES
Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
“The
words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” (Verse 1)
Almighty
Lord Jehovah God on Thy Great, Majestic, and Glorious Throne of Power in the
Highest Heavens, right now, please send Thy Omnipresent and All-Powerful
Holy Spirit mightily upon my entire being, body, soul, and spirit, for the
purpose of making me perfect. Give me a strong craving to be perfect. Give
me wisdom to know and faith in my Creator God to believe that God can make me
perfect now. Send Thy Almighty Holy Spirit mightily upon my entire being for
the purpose of giving me the most wonderful, loving, joyous, peaceful,
thrilling, exciting, fulfilling, meaningful, rewarding life possible during my
stay under the sun, a life much greater and more glorious than I have ever
known to date, or can even imagine or presently comprehend in my mind. I
acknowledge to Thee, Almighty God, that I do not have the power within my being
to make my own life into such a wonderful experience. So please now work
powerfully in my entire being to cause me to completely submit myself to My
Creator God on High, for the purpose of Thee making my life into the very best
life possible.
Please
work a great miracle upon me this very instant and cause my ears to hear, cause
my mind to perceive and understand, and cause my heart to willingly receive and
obey the words of the Preacher recorded here in Ecclesiastes in Thy Holy Bible.
Cause me to know the importance to me personally and individually, of
the power that God hath ordained for a king who reigns upon a throne, ruling in
absolute authority. Cause me to know the importance, directly and
personally to me, of King Solomon’s everlasting words from Almighty God on
High penned here in Ecclesiastes. Cause me to know the importance to Thee, Lord
God, of Thy chosen city, Jerusalem. Reveal to me the great blessings that I
will receive by loving Jerusalem and by praying for the peace of Jerusalem.
Help me to love Jerusalem and to pray for its peace. Please have mercy upon me
and save me from the awful vanity of being ignorant of Thy Holy
Scriptures recorded in Thy Holy Bible. I pray all these things for all
other people also.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the
Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (Verse 2)
Almighty
Jehovah God, by Thy Great Mercies, please reveal clearly to me everything
that is vain about my existence and life. Please have great mercy upon
me and save me from all vanity. Save me from living for that which
is vain. Save me from making a waste of my life on this earth under the
sun, and save me from perishing by pursuing that which is vanity. I cry
out to God in Heaven to fill me with Thy Perfect Knowledge to enable me to
clearly discern all that is truly vain in this life under the sun.
Change my heart so that I will not love that which is vain. Create
within me a heart that totally shuns all that is vain in this life here
on earth.
By
Thy Unlimited power, lead me to highest, richest, and most fulfilling heights
and spiritual planes a person can possibly achieve in this life under the sun.
Please guide me into the best life I can possibly experience during my short
stay on this earth. Cause me to know true love, joy, and peace to the fullest
extent possible. Help me to put all vanity far from me. I pray
these things for all other people also.
“Verily
every man at his best state is altogether vanity.” (Psalms 39:5) “Surely every man is vanity.”
(Psalms 39:11) Lord
God, please convince me of this truth, that I am altogether vanity, even
at my best state. Please convince me that every other person under the sun is
also altogether vanity. Convince me that I cannot possibly overcome my vanity
in my own power by my own efforts. Convince me that I need Almighty God’s
salvation freely working in my life to save me from my vanity. Please
change my heart to cause me to fully trust in Thee, my Creator God, and
to open my heart fully to Thee, for the purpose of allowing Thee to come into
my life and to have totally free access to rule and reign over my entire
being for the purpose of Thee saving me from all my vanity. I
pray that all other people under the sun will trust in Thee for God’s
salvation from human vanity, and for eternal life in The Lord Jesus
Christ.
“What
profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?” (Verse 3)
Lord God my Creator, cause me to fully understand
the eternal truth that it is totally vain for me to live only
for this present life under the sun. Convince me that I will perish eternally
if I do so. Show me what my priorities should be during my life here on earth.
Teach me the importance of, first and foremost, laboring for things that are eternal.
Give me a clear understanding of the Absolute Truth that I am created by Almighty
God as an eternal soul that will always exist. Teach me the importance of now
preparing for eternity, while I am living in this short life on earth. I pray
this for all other people also.
“One
generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth
for ever.” (Verse 4)
Lord
God, teach me to number my days and to apply myself to Thy True Wisdom. Cause
me to always seriously and soberly consider that my life here on earth is
steadily passing away and will soon end. Help me to never forget
that today might be the day that I die. Save me from mentally putting
the day of evil and the day of my death far into the future. Help me to now
prepare for death. Help me to now prepare to escape eternal destruction.
Help me to now prepare for entering into eternal bliss in God’s Heaven
when my days on earth pass away and I die a physical death. Please now grant me
a repentant heart toward my Creator God and grant me living faith to trust in
The Lord Jesus Christ, The Saviour of the world. Please save me from all
vanity, especially the fatal vanity of not preparing for
my physical death. I pray these things for all other people too.
“The
sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he
arose.” (Verse 5)
Almighty
Lord God, teach me how that my life on this earth is like to the sun’s daily
circuit. I arose to life on this earth when I was born. And my short life here
under the sun is as 1 day of sunshine. As my day of death approaches, I am
hastening to the place from which I arose. My Creator God created me from the
dust of the earth. And when I soon die, I will return to the dust of the earth.
So please teach me to number my days and to apply myself to wisdom. Save me
from living a vain life, and most of all please save me from the fatal vanity
of not now preparing for the day of my death by trusting in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I pray these things for all other people also.
“The
wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth
about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.” (Verse 6)
Almighty
God, I acknowledge that Thy creation is magnificent and perfect. Please teach
me to worship Thee, because Thou created me to worship Thee. Cause me to desire
to worship Thee, because that is why I was created, and because Thou art
totally worthy to be worshipped, and because Thou art most glorious and
magnificent, and because Thou art completely perfect. Please work a magnificent
work in my being and re-create me, making me into a perfect being. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Almighty God in Heaven, I desire to obey this most important
command of Thine. I know that I do not have the power within myself to be
perfect. Thus I now cry out to our Heavenly Father Who is Perfect, asking Thee
to work in my life powerfully to enable me to fully submit myself to Thee for
the purpose of Thee making me perfect. Save me from the vanity of being
content with my imperfections. I pray these things for all other people
also.
“All
the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from
whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” (Verse 7)
Almighty
Lord God, I worship and praise Thee, because Thy Creation so wonderfully
provides the water necessary to sustain my physical life. Now please teach me
the importance of receiving Thy Water of Life that will keep my eternal being
alive forever. Please cause my soul and spirit to thirst for the Water of Life
that satisfies one’s being entirely. Please lead me to the Water of Life
that I may drink of it freely, and never, ever thirst again. Teach me how that
the Lord Jesus Christ freely gives this Water of Life to every soul who trusts
in Him. Please give me faith to trust in the Lord Jesus. Just as the waters of
the rivers return to the place from whence they came, please make me fully
aware that whatever goes forth from my being, will always, without fail,
return to me again. Cause me to seriously consider that whatsoever I sow, that
will I also reap. Save me from sowing to the wind, because I will reap a
whirlwind. Save me from sowing sin, because I will reap death and destruction
if I do so. Please save me from all vanity. I pray these things
for all other people also.
“All
things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with
seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” (Verse
8)
Almighty Jehovah God, please help me to spend my
short days on earth labouring diligently for Thee, doing the work Thou hast
ordained for my life, labour that will profit and reward me for all eternity.
Please give me keen spiritual vision to enable me to look on the unseen. Help
me to live as seeing my Creator God Who is invisible. Please give me the
Spiritual vision that Thou hast ordained necessary for me to behold and to
know, without which I will perish. Please give me ears to hear everything
Thou hast to say to me. I pray this for all other people also. Please
save us all from all vanity.
“The
thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that
which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Verse 9)
Lord
God Almighty, I worship Thee because all the many great and wonderful
things that Thou hast done have been done perfectly. I worship Thee for the
certainty, completeness, perfection, and finality of all Thy Acts.
Please show and teach me the old paths and guide me into them. Upon completing
Thy Creation, Thou didst proclaim it ALL to be very good in Genesis 1:31.
Please help me to love and seek Thy Perfect Creation. Please re-make me into a
new and perfect creature. Please save me from the vanity of chasing
after every “new” thing that the devil’s world puts before me during this short
life under the sun. I pray this for all other human souls too.
“Is
there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already
of old time, which was before us.” (Verse
10)
I
cry out to the One and Only True and Living God to save me from the vanity
of seeking earthly and worldly things, whether they be old or new. Lord
God, please create within me a heart that is desirous to seek my Creator God
first and foremost. Please eradicate all vanity that is within my
being. Please save me from loving things, especially the things of the
world. Please help me to love my Creator God with all my heart, soul,
mind, and strength. I pray this for all other people also.
“There
is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of
things that are to come with those that shall come after.” (Verse 11)
Almighty God, please help me to forget those things
which are behind. (Philippians 3:13) Please come into my life right now
with all of Almighty God’s Living Power and save me to the utmost.
And right now, help me to put completely behind me, my vain
life of living for earthly things and for the world and things of the world.
Please help me to reach forth unto those things which are before. Help me to
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:14) Please make me thus minded and perfect me. Reveal
unto me all things in my life that are not in accordance with Thy Divine
Will for me and by Thy Unlimited Power, please eradicate them all
from my life. Please remove all vanity far from me. I pray these
things for all other people too.
“I
the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.” (Verse
12)
Almighty Jehovah God on High, please give me ears to hear what Thy Preacher and King Solomon hath to say to me thru his words in Thy Holy Scriptures. Teach me all the Wisdom of God contained in these Scriptures, and enable me to properly apply that wisdom to my life under the sun. I pray this for all other people also. I also pray for the peace and salvation of Israel and Jerusalem. Protect Thy Chosen Nation from its enemies.
“And I gave my heart to seek
and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven:
this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.”
(Verse 13)
Almighty and All Knowing God, please reveal unto me the sore travail that Thou hast ordained for me during my life here on this earth (under the sun). Please guide and direct me to seek out and to search out by godly, perfect wisdom from above, all matters that Thou wouldest have me to know during my life on earth. Perfect my wisdom, Lord, please.
Lord Jehovah God, I now fully and completely open my heart to Thee, for Thee to fill my heart and mind with Almighty God’s True, Perfect, and Complete Wisdom that is from above; wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (James 3:17)
Please reveal to me how that all wisdom that descendeth not from above is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Please save me from the vanity of all earthly, sensual, and devilish wisdom. Please reveal to me that this devilish wisdom results in envying and strife in a person’s heart, and that where envying and strife are, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:14-16) So please have mercy on me, and save me from all confusion and every evil work. I pray these things for all other people too.
“I have seen all the works
that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and
vexation of spirit.” (Verse 14)
Almighty Lord God in the Highest Heavens, please give me perfect Spiritual vision in order to perfectly and clearly discern between good and evil as I look upon and carefully and seriously consider all the works that are done under the sun on this earth. Save me from thinking that evil is good and that good is evil. Please convince me that all works under the sun are vanity and vexation of spirit. And I humbly beg Thee, Lord God, for Thy Great Mercies Sake; please have mercy on me and save me from all vanity and vexation of spirit. Please set my soul and spirit totally free, Lord God, and bring me into the glorious and most blessed freedom that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray this for all other people also.
“That which is crooked
cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” (Verse 15)
Almighty Lord God, please have mercy on me and save me from the vanity of striving to change things that are impossible for me to change, and things that are not Thy Will for me to change or to even desire to change them. Please cause me to totally trust in Thee, My Creator God, and completely rely on Thee to work mightily in me by Thy Unlimited Power to miraculously change every thing about my being that it is Thy Will to change. And thus please make me into a perfect being that will greatly glorify Thee, My Creator God, by the life I live here on this earth, under the sun. I pray these things for all other people too.
“I communed with mine own heart,
saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all
they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience
of wisdom and knowledge.” (Verse 16)
Almighty God, please help me to fully comprehend and understand that Thou didst bring King Solomon into his great estate, gave him more wisdom than any other person in the world, and preserved that Wisdom in Thy Holy Scriptures for the express purpose of teaching that wisdom directly to me. Thou hast preserved that God-given wisdom of King Solomon in Thy Holy Bible that endures forever. Please send Thy Holy Spirit most powerfully upon me now, to teach me all the wisdom that Thou hast ordained that I learn from King Solomon’s great experience of wisdom and knowledge during his life under the sun, long, long ago. I pray this for all other people also.
“And I gave my heart to know
wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation
of spirit. (Verse 17)
Lord God, please help me to understand fully, that Thou hast given me these words of wisdom to warn me and to thus turn me from the vanity of giving my heart to know madness and folly which will, of a certainty, result in vexation of my spirit. Please save me from the vanity of giving my heart to know earthly and worldly wisdom. Have mercy on me and save me from giving my heart to know madness and folly. Please help me to give my heart totally and fully to my Creator God, to learn Thy Pure, Spiritual Wisdom that descendeth from Above. I pray these things for all other people under the sun also.
“For in much wisdom is much
grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. (Verse 18)
Almighty God, help me to take due warning that my degenerate, fleshly love and craving for earthly and worldly wisdom and knowledge is most detrimental, harmful, and destructive to me. Please help me to take due notice of the certain and unchangeable truth of wise King Solomon’s warning here in this verse. Much wisdom will of a certainty bring much grief to me, and much knowledge will bring much sorrow to me. Convince me that there is no way I can get around, shun, avoid, or escape those eternal truths. Please cause me to desire only the wisdom and knowledge that Thou hast ordained specifically for me in this life under the sun. During my life under the sun, please save me from unnecessary grief and sorrow that comes from disobedience to my Creator God. Please have great mercy upon me and save me from all vanity. I pray this for all other people also. Thank Thee, Lord Jehovah God in Heaven, for hearing and answering these prayers of mine, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s Precious Name’s Sake. Amen.
(This is the end of Chapter 1 of VANITY OF VANITIES)
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