Old Testament: 1Ki 8.28–30

To read the Bible in a year, read First Kings 8–9 on May 4, In the year of our Lord Christ 2023

By Don Ruhl 

First Kings 8 reveals the beautiful prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple. 

He confessed how grand our God is, that heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. Therefore, the little temple that Solomon had built was insignificant by comparison. 

Nevertheless, the king of Israel requested that the God of Israel would regard the prayer that the king offered, pleading for the Lord God to hear the cry that Solomon lifted up to  heaven, that God’s eyes might be open toward the temple where the Lord had chosen to dwell. 

Solomon asked further that the great God of heaven would hear the prayers of his people when they turned toward the temple to pray (Such as Daniel did, Daniel 6). 

The king simply pleaded for God to hear their prayers, especially their prayers for forgiveness (1 Kings 8.28–30). 

Now, the Lord dwells not in temples made with stone, but he dwells in the hearts of the followers of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray in the same spirit as Solomon, knowing just how great our God is, but that he would condescend to hear the humble cries of his people. 

Questions: 

• Do you plead with God to hear you, or do you just assume that he does? 
• In First Kings 8.28–30, what did Solomon say God said would dwell in the temple? 

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Don preaches with the Savage Street Church of Christ in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Listen to his sermons here: GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com