I Kings 8:27-28a But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant.
Recently we spent time in Flagstaff, Arizona. Up in the high country of Northern Arizona, they have a low-light mandate for all the city lights. They are trying to keep a vibrant night sky. I must say that I have never seen a more vibrant night sky than the one they view on the Mogollon Rim. It is dazzling. There are millions of stars and it seems like you can see them all.
Now, have you ever counted the stars? Well, you can begin, but you will never be able to count all the stars. You would sooner count all the sand on the nearest beach than to count all the stars in the heavens. It is literally infinite. It is inexhaustible. There is no limit to it. Yet, that infinite space is a creation. It is something that has been created by a God Who is Himself truly infinite. The heavens are merely the tip of the iceberg. They are simply a manifestation of the infinite nature of God.
This is something Solomon realized when he was trying to build a temple, a focal point for the worship of such an infinite God. At the dedication of this temple, Solomon asked, “But will God indeed dwell in the earth?” He said, “Can the God Who spoke the universe into existence live on the earth. Can He be limited to a house that I have built with human hands? We cannot contain this God. He is immeasurable, inexhaustible, and limitless.” Yet, Solomon said to God, “Have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant.” Then he said, “That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place.”
What follows is a real emphasis on a limited place, a very specific, finite place for an unlimited, inexhaustible God. This chapter speaks of Solomon’s Temple. Over and again Solomon emphasizes the spatial significance of this place by giving a number of scenarios in which God’s people pray to God toward the temple. So, you have this infinite God Who acknowledges prayers toward this particular place.
As to time, verse 57 says, “The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us.” Solomon is essentially saying, “Whenever in any situation we pray toward this house, may God hear from heaven and answer our prayers. As He was with our fathers before, may he be with us now.”
You see a contrast here between the infinite nature of God and the finite concepts of space and time that limit people like you, me, and King Solomon. We have a pretty good picture of what prayer actually is by looking at the long prayer of Solomon and his contrast between an infinite God and the time and space to which He condescends to work.
So what is prayer? Prayer is asking an infinite God to intervene in time and space. How amazing that a limitless God would narrow His energies to people like us in this little time and this little space. What an amazing thing!
Where is Solomon’s Temple? It is gone. All we have are remnants. But the God of that temple is undiminished. That same God Who was described as hearing from heaven when these people prayed toward this place is the God Who never sleeps or slumbers and is not limited. You may be all the way around the globe from where I am sitting right now, but God is just as close to me as He is to you and just as close to all those who have a humble heart and ask Him for what they need.
What is prayer? Prayer is asking an infinite God to intervene in time and space. Today, on this day from whatever location you find yourself, realize that while you are limited by these things, God is not and He condescends to answer the prayers of people like us.