Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”
– 1 Kings 6:11–13
I want you to think about this promise from God to Solomon in 1 Kings 6:11–13, as he is constructing the temple. God says, if you will walk in my statutes, obey my rules, keep all my commandments, and he uses this phrase again, walk in them. So, know my word and walk according to my word, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
God is calling His people to know His Word and walk in it.
What that means is I will bless you just as I bless your father David. You will experience the fullness of my blessing as you walk in my word. And then, not just for you, and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel. In other words, you walk in my word, it will be good for you, and it will be good for all the people you lead.
1 Kings 6:11–13 Reminds Us to Know God’s Word
Now, obviously, this is a specific promise from God to Solomon in 1 Kings 6:11–13, but as we read throughout the rest of the Bible and specifically the New Testament, where we see our relationship with God summarizing this new covenant, the same reality is promised to you and me there, that the blessing of God will be ours as we walk in his word and not just us, but his blessing will spread to others through us as we walk in his word. So could we just reflect on that promise today in our lives and pray according to it.
God, we praise you for your word. We praise you for your promises to us. Thank you that if and when we walk in your word and we keep your commandments and we obey your rules, that are good. They are so good for us and good for others. that when we walk in them, we will experience the fullness of your blessing in our lives. And not just us, but the people around us will experience your blessing through our lives. God, we want that. We want the fullness of your blessing in our lives today, tomorrow, each day. God, we want the fullness of your blessing in our lives. And we want others to experience the fullness of your blessing through our lives. So help us, we pray, today to walk in your word.
1 Kings 6:11–13 Leads Us to Pray for Our Walk With God
God, we pray that that would be the summary of our days. I walked in the word of God, according to the leadership of the spirit of God. We pray that would be the summary of our lives tomorrow and the next day, and the next day. Everything we do, God, we pray to help us to walk in your word in ways that lead to blessing in our lives and in ways that lead to blessing in others’ lives. God, we pray for the people around us today. Whether they are in our homes or our workplaces, wherever we go, or whoever we interact with. God we pray that you’d help us to walk in your word in such a way that you’re blessing, your goodness, your grace spreads through us. That our lives would be a conduit of your grace to others.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for the Nations
God, we pray for that as the church in the world, among the nations. God, we pray for the Afshari people of Afghanistan today. They don’t have your word, who don’t know your blessing through your word, through the gospel. We pray that you would help us to be obedient to your command, to make this gospel known among all the nations, including the Afshari of Afghanistan that they might know your blessing as we know your blessing. God, we pray all of this according to your word in 1st Kings 6:11-13, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
