Daily Thought for Wednesday 20th May 2026
“… devote yourselves completely to the Lord our God …”
1 Kings 8:61 (NRSV)
Not one word …
Peter Wood
“For the new life in this community, for the hopes and aspirations of the young, for the courage and faithfulness of the old, for our young people, community leaders, doctors, teachers, builders, carers and politicians, for all who greet one another and smile in the face of petty mindedness:
God of peace, of joy, of love, of rest,
fill our community with your love so that we may treasure not just buildings or our individual hopes but our life together.
For place and people, we give you thanks, we give thanks generous God for this day and every day. Amen.”
These were some of the words of thanksgiving that I prayed when, in 2010, we officially opened the new church building in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire. It had taken nearly ten years to realise a project that had been set before me when I had arrived in 2000: years which had been exciting, fraught, challenging and ultimately rewarding.
On that day in 2010 we had invited the Duke Of Gloucester on behalf of the Queen to officially open the new church building. I had repeatedly gone through in my mind and discussed with the leadership team all those dignitaries that we needed to invite to this opening ceremony: the Lord Lieutenant, the Member of Parliament, the head of the Council, and so on. It was a day of celebration but also of relief (as anyone who has managed building projects will know!).
As we looked back so we also looked forward.
Here in this passage in the book of Kings, Solomon prays a prayer of blessing as part of the dedication of the newly finished Temple. He once again reminds the people of God’s faithfulness to them down the years – through past generations, “not one word has failed.”
I simply note other phrases in the prayer that Solomon uses:
- Thanks, “for rest given to his people”;
- And in response to God’s faithfulness, “incline our hearts to him” that they may forever “walk in his ways”, with the goal of all this being, “… so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God.”
Shall we pray?
Lord God, Master Builder, cast a great vision deep within us so that whatever project we are working on communicates your love and glory to all. Amen.
Peter Wood is the Mission Officer for the Presbytery of Lothian & Borders.