“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? If the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).

Even at the height of Israel’s glory, Solomon knew that no structure—however large and sacred—could contain the living God. The heavens themselves are too small. And yet, God pays attention to the small. He chooses to draw near.

God does not merely watch from heaven; He comes to dwell among his people—not in the stone of the Temple or the cedar of the Ark, but in his people. We, his faithful, become the new temple because God indwells us. His presence is no longer in a single holy place, but in hearts made attentive to him.

Prayer, then, is more than a connection through words; it is a means to prepare his dwelling in us. It clears room within our hearts, turning our distracted selves toward him who desires unity with us.

When we pray, we recognize that God is journeying with us, not unlike the Ark of the Covenant during the Exodus. This awareness of God dwelling in and journeying with us does not isolate us, for he dwells not only in us as individuals but also among us as a people. Our lives then become “living stones,” connected to one another, forming a dwelling place vast enough to reflect some of Heaven.

When we become conscious of God’s presence within us and among us, the Kingdom of God becomes tangible “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Through the prayer of the Eucharist, the Kingdom becomes recognizable in mercy offered and in compassion lived. What once seemed distant is now close, because God, in his inexhaustible love, continuously offers himself to be encountered and shared in us and through us. May we become living temples.

Prayer:

Lord, you know our hearts. Please help us become living temples, that we may consciously acknowledge Your presence among us wherever we go, and that Your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.