Hear the supplication 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.


1 Kings 8:27-30



27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication 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.



“ Desperate for God “



One of the biggest problems for man is pride. Pride caused the first couple, Adam and Eve, to sin. They wanted to be like God. Of course, the serpent tempted them they can become like God if they eat the fruit that God has forbidden them which was not true. The serpent’s argument was very sly and effective. It attacked the weakest spot of man, the pride. The serpent tried to falsely elevate the pride of man with lies. It said, “Why would God prohibit you from eating the fruit? Is He afraid of you becoming like God? The man fell to the temptation. Man’s problem of pride didn’t get better after the fall. People still want to get better from God. They made a lot of idols which are basically their puppets. Many times they tried to make even true God idol that they can control. When Moses was delayed from a meeting with God, Moses’ brother Aaron and Israelites made golden ox and declared it as their god. The same mistakes have been repeated throughout history. People who asserted to believe in God made different types of idols, whether they are statues, temples, churches, other institutions or nations. Then they mastermind those idols behind. What’s intriguing is that they believe that they can deceive God in such away. Solomon didn’t make that mistake. He finished the first and most glorious temple and was dedicated to the Lord now. And hear what he said, “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day”. He wasn’t trying to be humble. He indeed felt so desperate. He was a young and inexperienced king with a lot of challenges. Without God’s help, he felt that he was bound to fail. The temple of God that he was dedicating was not a symbol of his own might but a confession of his desperation. That was why God accepted the temple and filled it with His presence and grace. This was what made the temple truly glorious. That was indeed what made the glory of Solomon. What will make God fill our life with His presence and grace? A lot of animals? Mega-temples? Great accomplishments? What He wants from us. Are broken hearts and souls that are desperate for God. Do you have such a desperate soul for God? God is not far away from you.