May my prayers be like this

⁵⁶ "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. ⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.

1 Kings 8:56-58

Today's passage comes from Solomon's benediction after he has dedicated the temple. This is such a rich prayer and there is much to cling to in this passage.

• Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.
  God is faithful. He keeps His word. As it says in Isaiah 55:11, His word will accomplish it's purpose. Count on it.
• may he never leave us nor forsake us
  Jesus cried out on the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He was taking on the sin of the world - my sin. When He died, the curtain of the temple - which separated the holiest part of the temple from the rest of the temple - was torn in two. Solomon's prayer that God would never forsake us was ultimately answered when Jesus died on the cross. Solomon was deadicating the temple as the place where Israel would go to meet with God. The curtain being torn in two when Jesus died showed that Jesus was to whom we could go to meet with God.
• May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands...
  As much as I want to turn my heart to God, I can't. He can. As much as I want to obey his commandments (some times more than others, I can't obey them all. Christ, in me, can.

May my prayers be like this one. May I recognize that God is faithful to His word and that He will never forsake me and that He will turn my heart to Him and help me to obey Him.