When? This is the question everyone asks the Lord at some point. Today’s passage says: “When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, the Lord appeared to him at night and said: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices’.”
My brother, my sister, months, maybe years, had passed since the prayer of dedication of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 6:1-42). In between, Solomon even had time to finish several other building projects, including the royal palace (verse 11). My friend, we are not talking about building a studio or a shed… Let’s look at the figures: “At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace” (2 Chronicles 8:1)… The Bible also says: “It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace” (1 Kings 7:1). Remember that it is not said that the Lord had to remind Solomon to build the temple: “Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself” (2 Chronicles 2:1). The fact is: Solomon was aware of the promise of God; he knew he was in a position to do what would please God, and he did. Then the Lord broke His silence to speak to Solomon. Very often we know what we have to do, but we do no. Yet, we hear God speaking to us every day… God is not talkative advertising radio!
My friend, how many times have you sought immediate answers to your prayers, and when nothing happened, you started wondering if the Lord heard you? Yes, God hears our prayers and He provides for us. And even when our prayers are awkward, Jesus intercedes for us at God’s right hand and He can make them right in the eyes of the Father… Moreover, the Holy Spirit is there to help us pray. So we must learn to trust that He will answer us at the right time, in His time. So many people fabricate their hearing from God because the Bible says the Spirit of God dwells in us. Let’s never forget that “the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:3). And the fact is that God is not as talkative throughout the Bible as believers make Him speak nowadays: God is faithful, but He is now asking people to wander from church to church; God is love, and now He is leading people to selfish actions! Hmmmmm!
My friend, God takes his time before speaking to us, and this does not mean that He does not hear your prayers or that He does not see your tears… His principles, His guidance and His direction are revealed in His Word so that we can live the abundant life that He has offered us through the cross. However, the sad reality is that those who claim to hear from the Lord every day are also those that seem more lost, desperate, depressed, confused, looking for things they cannot even define themselves. Is this really possible? Let’s learn to wait for God’s time. His silence does not mean that He is not at work. Our role is to listen and meditate on His instructions and obey Him… As long as you are focused on the time of God’s action, my friend, sin awaits you to make you fall or fail when God’s time arrives precisely. When? It is not our business… it’s God’s business. And while He takes care of ‘when’ He simply asks us this: ” 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14)… Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.