Commentaries:
Solomon is teaching us that now is the time to work with care, energy, and purpose to get the most and the best from life and to prepare for the hereafter. His basic reason is that the clock is ticking. Time is running out.
We let our requests for what we think we need from God be made known to Him with ease. In other words, they are at the forefront of our minds, and it is very likely that before we actually get down on our knees—or however or wherever we pray—we have been thinking about what we are going to request of God for a long time. We have many reasons to give to God why we want or need what we are asking Him for.
Thanksgiving in prayer requires prior preparation too. It is not something most of us tend to work at with all of our might. This is because of the human proclivity to merely accept things—especially things that we might consider as blessings—as due us. In other words, in some cases we go to God with the thought that we deserve it. This attitude is there, and this is what makes so many of our prayers nothing more than "the gimmes." Other vital elements that are needed to make an effective prayer before God are often overlooked, forgotten, and neglected, and sometimes never used, or maybe they are just brushed over in the rush to get to whatever we want to ask Him for. Nevertheless, true thanksgiving—an expression of sincere gratitude for what we have been given undeserved—needs to be a part of every prayer.
John W. Ritenbaugh
New Covenant Priesthood (Part Three)
We do not have to become skilled at everything we put our hand to. Not everybody is gifted to do everything skillfully, even as the various parts of the human body cannot do every other part's designed function. God gifts and places each member of Christ's Body as it pleases Him. However, He expects us to grow, overcome, and function well where He places us. So, we should work diligently to improve in our prayer and Bible study through practice, practice, and more practice, even to the point of devising exercises that train us to think and become better organized. Prayer is work and so is study. We must strive to be more than merely functional at them.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Two): Works
The Bible shows that the dead know nothing, and even their very thoughts perish when they die. In other words, all mental and physical processes cease when an individual dies. Solomon's definition of death concurs with Webster's Dictionary: "a permanent cessation of all vital functions: the end of life."
Earl L. Henn
Basic Doctrines: The Fate of the Wicked
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Ecclesiastes 9:10:
Malachi 1:6-10
Matthew 6:19-21
Matthew 25:3-4
Mark 8:24-25
Luke 23:46
John 5:9
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
