š©µ A Short Prayer
And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of theĀ Lord, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, that theĀ LordĀ appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
And theĀ LordĀ said unto him, āI have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.ā
ā 1 Kings 9 1:4
What house am I to build for the Lord that will be pleasing to Him? But to build means to labour in earnestness and with effort, and with a vision for what is to be built. How much I lack this greater vision of what I am to build! Here I am, knocking stones together amidst small rocks and a foundation of sand! I see no way of building anything worthy of the Lord!
What is prayer without theĀ actĀ of building a house for the Lord? It is not the desire to build which Solomon rested on to finish the house, for this would have been fluttering close and far, from moment to moment, and never steadily fixed. No, we sayĀ firstĀ that SolomonĀ built,Ā for it is onlyĀ afterĀ the act of serving that most of us then realise it as our core desire.
So why am I waiting for myself toĀ desireĀ building a house for the Lord? Why not justĀ act?Ā However small my victories are, they are still victories and steps I have taken towards building the house of the Lord.
Help me Lord to persevere in spite of my many failures! Help me to learn from my mistakes and to always focus on trying again with a firm hope! You never count my failures Lord, but only desire that I step back up with joy and zeal!
But I also lack focus, O Lord. My soul wanders around material lusts, and I am spiritually tired. Even when I try again, it is always half-hearted and never with the hope of victory. I look close and far, trying to see if I am making progress, but all this gazing around is just a distraction!
Help me Lord to try again in spite of my doubt, which, through this prayer, may hopefully be transformed into Love, zeal, and earnestness.
I cannot become myself without You Lord, for You alone know who I am and what is best for me. I will try again with joy Lord, and I will learn from all the failures I go through.