At our Bible study tonight, we looked at David’s last words in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 and saw how praise and prayer formed an integral part of his life throughout. We see in the last chapters of David’s life how important the construction of the temple was to him, and how he longed for his son Solomon to be in the best position to fulfil this work, according to God’s word to him. We reflected on how God searches our hearts and knows our desires and how He longs for us to serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind (emotion and reason working together.) The detail that went into David’s plans for the temple came from God (down to forks!) and reminds us that He is a God of the tiny details as well as the big picture.
David gave willingly of his riches to this project, and the official responded with equal generosity, reminding us of Paul’s teaching on giving generously in 2 Cor 8 and 9. God loves a cheerful giver, for He Himself gives generously. God’s work should be fuelled by God’s people, responding generously from their finances to the work of God, because they recognise all they have comes from Him in the first place.
David’s prayer for Solomon involves much praise and thanksgiving and focus on who God is and what He has done. Sometimes, our prayers are all petition and no praise, but we need to learn to pray according to the blueprint set out for us in the Lord’s prayer. Praise and thanksgiving are vital elements of prayer. David is confident in all God has done and this gives him confidence that God will work on Solomon’s behalf in the future. We see that the future is bright because God’s people have God firmly at the centre of their worship and work.