And He Did Evil Because….

I've been reading about Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who succeeded Solomon as king.  He did a lot of evil things.  That got me to wondering, how does someone who has seen all that God can do, then turn away from that and commit evil.  

I mean think about it.  Rehoboam grew up in Solomon's household.  He got to witness and experience all of the blessings that God bestowed on Solomon.  Why would he deviate from that?

Well thankfully the Bible   tells us exactly why.

2 Chronicles 12:14(NKJV)

14And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

How do we prepare our hearts to seek the Lord?  Or do we even prepare our hearts to seek the Lord?  How many times do we rush into and through our Bible study, more as just one more thing to mark done on our daily checklist, than actually approaching God with an open heart seeking His wisdom?  I know I am guilty of that at times.

My suggestion is to start with prayer.  Sometimes I'll jump right in to reading without even taking time to stop and say Hi to God.  How rude!  This is a relationship.  We have to stop and take the time to build it. 

So I always try to start my Bible time with prayer.  And not a quick, rote prayer either.  Something heartfelt.  Even if it is just praising God.  Thanking Him for all that He does for us.  If you feel yourself trying to hurry than just close your eyes again, relax, and ask God to help you focus on Him. 

I think that is what Scripture is talking about when it says we need to prepare our hearts to seek the Lord.  And what is the benefit of doing that?  It helps us guard against committing evil!