Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 29:19 (New Living Translation)

19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.

David is praying. David asks God to give things to his son Solomon. I love this phrase “the wholehearted desire to obey.” David does not ask that his son obey him, but obey God.

Sure, my sons and my relatives and the folks I know aren’t about to build a temple. They are about to wake on a Saturday morning and not do every little thing their heart desires. They have other people in their lives who need them for this and that and a dozen other things. Won’t those people just go away and …

No, God puts these people in our lives for us to love and serve. And some Saturday mornings we just don’t feel up to … oh wait, what was that sound? Is someone making a mess in the kitchen again or fighting over the … Life.

God, bless my sons and their wives and children. Bless my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and on down the line. Grant them the wholehearted desire to follow You. And God, help me along the way as well. Help me to pray and love and serve, too.