GOD INCLINES HEARTS

       "The LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers: let Him not leave us, nor forsake us: that He may incline our hearts unto Him, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers."  (1 Kings 8:57-58)

The time was the dedication of the Temple. Solomon had just offered a magnificent prayer to God in behalf of the people. During his prayer, he knelt on his knees "with his hands spread up to heaven." It was one of Solomon's finest hours. Following that prayer, "he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice." Our text is part of that blessing. In it the king confessed that if God did not leave them or forsake them, it was in order that He might "incline" their hearts to Him. In so doing, they would become capable of doing what He commanded them. What does "incline our hearts" mean? The NIV reads "turn our hearts." The word "incline" literally means to "cause to yield."Strongs It presumes a fundamental weakness in man that requires Divine assistance. This is the kind of condition described in the 110th Psalm, where the nature of Christ's present reign is described. "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power" (v 3). The inclining of the heart to God is not a one-time occurrence, but is to be sought continually. No man is as close or sensitive to the Lord as redemption allows. That is why David prayed, "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies" (Psa 119:36). There is a closeness to the Lord, and a compelling urge to consume His word, that goes far beyond the experience of the average Christian. Modern religion tends to so dull the hearts of people that they become unaware of this. It certainly is in order for us to still pray for God to "incline our hearts" to Himself. After all, "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). He, and He alone, will "Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ" (Heb 13:21). He still "draws" men to Himself, "allures" them to places where He can minister to them, and "causes" them to walk in His statutes (John 6:44; 6:65; Hos 2:14; Ezek 36:27).

If Solomon could plead for God to incline the hearts of the people, how much more can those in Christ do so. They are part of a covenant in which such drawing is brought to its highest point. It is involved in God putting His law in their "inward parts," and writing it "in their hearts" (Jer 31:33). When we sense a need to be more sensitive to the Lord and His will, it is in order to ask Him to incline our hearts to Him. He is forward to do this for us.