And the
Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have
made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My
name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.” (v.3)
Here in
chapter 9 the LORD acknowledges to Solomon that He has heard his prayers and
supplications. We could stop right there and get tremendous encouragement out
of this passage concerning God’s ear to our prayers. However, the main focus of
this passage is God’s response to Solomon’s prayers. The LORD promised to
establish Solomon’s kingdom if, “he walked before Him as his father David
walked in integrity of heart” (v.4).
What does
this mean? Well, it certainly doesn’t mean Solomon must be perfect because
David was far from it. He sinned over and over again. What it does mean is that
Solomon must have a heart for the LORD and His Word, follow Him and no other,
then the promise given by God to his father David would be continued through
him (v.5).
This should
be very encouraging to us. First of all, God hears our prayers. We may not
receive an answer to our liking or in our timing but, He hears us. Secondly, we
don’t have to be perfect, Jesus covered that base for us with His blood on
Calvary. Finally, if our hearts are toward Him and His Word, and we do not
leave Him to serve other Gods, He will be faithful to His promises toward us as
well.
The Truth
“In My
Father’s house are many
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John
14:2-3)
