1 Kings 8
52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
It is a plea from a heart that was pleasing to God. Why are some people’s prayers answered and some unanswered? Why do people pray so much with so little results, but other’s prayers are heard?
Because the prayer either comes from a heart pleasing to God or not.
This prayer was prayed by Solomon, David’s son. David had it on his heart to build a house to God. But God spoke to him that his son Solomon would build the house. And David was pleased with God’s will.
Let us look at us who should be busy building a dwelling place where God dwells. Your very life ought to be a dwelling place of God. The Bible says our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. And God has placed us in a congregation, the Living Stones, forming His building to reveal Himself.
How can we build God’s temple, His church? Who may build God’s temple and is allowed to be part of it? Study and see how meticulous Solomon carried out the building of God’s temple. Many people want to do God’s work these days and claim to go out in the Lord’s Name. But the person who does God’s work in his own way can be cursed. We need to do it God’s way.
We are in a race and if we do not compete by the rules the Bible says we could be disqualified at the end. All our labour, work and sweating would be in vain.
Let us look at a few points of Solomon’s life. Shortly after Solomon was born we hear that the Lord loved him. It is a wonderful word. God so loved the world that He sent His Son as a ransom. The Lord loved Solomon. He even sent his prophet Nathan to say, call him Jedidiah, meaning “beloved of the Lord”.
Should it not be our striving that God can look down on us and love us?
Of His own Son it was as if God could not contain Himself and spoke “this is My Son in whom I am well pleased”. May our actions be well-pleasing to God.
It is true that our actions speak louder than our words. But sometimes our words reveal what our hearts are like. Let us evaluate our own words. Let us make that apology that needs to be made where we did not speak in a Godly manner.
Psalms 141
3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Knowing the power of the tongue we would be wise to ask God to put a guard before our mouth so that our words would bring honour to God.
The word says that he who can control his tongue can control his whole body. He that can control his tongue is the perfect man.
Your sin has terrible consequences not only for you but for others too – even your secret, private sin that you think you keep only to yourself. Sin destroys relationships and is cruel.
Don’t forget where God has called you. Don’t harm others while you intend to do God’s work.
It is extremely difficult to remain silent when others tread us down because we want to protect our reputation. But we don’t need to lash back. Let God protect our reputation. Jesus was silent before His accusers and God saw to His reputation.
David saw God in everything that happened to him and did not complain to people. When he could not keep silent any longer he took his complaints directly to God. Complaining to others insults God as if He cannot take care of us.
Instead we should take our complaints directly to God like David.