Last week Aaron Lincoln shared 1 Kings 8:57-58 with me. They have been rattling around in my mind ever since. Those verses read: The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, (58) that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
Solomon prayed those words as part of his benediction at the dedication of the temple. Solomon is asking for the Lord to never leave us. The motivation for the request is so that the Lord will incline our hearts to Him. I know I have read those verses several times, but their message seems so life-giving. As followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is present with us. The Lord Jesus promised in Matthew 28:20 that He is with us until the end of the age. And part of that purpose is to incline our hearts to God so that we will walk as followers. We can all struggle with following Jesus. Whether because of temptation or testing or other causes, we can find ourselves drifting. But in God’s goodness, He has brought His presence into our lives to keep moving our hearts to Him. If we are going to fight the good fight urged Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, we will need divine help. Thankfully, God is eagerly providing us with that help. Pray these verses today and give thanks to God for the work He is doing to incline our hearts to Him.