1 Kings 8: Neglect

“Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 
May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. 
May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. 
And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.
But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” - 1 Kings 8:56-61 NIV

I love Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple that he built, how he beseeches God over and over again to "Hear us from heaven." when we commit any of the sins against him that we are prone to commit.  When a man wrongs his neighbor, when the people have been defeated by their enemies, when there is no rain because of the people's sins, when famine, plague or any form of disaster or disease falls upon the people, Solomon prays. "Hear us from heaven."

So, I find myself guilty, guilty of neglect, of not following the Lord with my whole heart, just like the Children of Israel were prone to do.  There are a lot of outside forces I could blame it on:  I have responsibilities, life places so many demands on us, I'm weary from watching the world go to hell in a handbag, but none of these are sufficient.  I may not be prone to wander, but I am prone to neglect. 

Hebrews 2:3 states "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him."  There it is.  Just like the Children of Israel, we have been saved from the clutches of the one who seeks to destroy and with that salvation comes the responsibility of not neglecting it.  Thanks be to God that he is all loving and forgiving.  All we have to do is confess our sin and he will hear us from heaven and forgive.  All of our sins will be forgiven, even the sin of neglect.