What to do after we pray...

Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:54-61 ESV) Solomon had just poured out his heart to God at the dedication of the Temple. In short, he asked God to hear all the prayers of confession that came before Him at the temple, whether it be the sins of individuals, their leaders, or the nation as a whole. He asked that God would hear and forgive. Rather than seeing God as living in a box (the Ark of the Covenant), Solomon realized God is bigger than the temple, than their nation, than the world, and every prayer has His ear. As he concludes his prayer, he asks for one more thing - that God would give his people a heart to obey. After we pray for everything else, let's not forget that one. If we forget a heart to obey, we will find ourselves needing a lot more prayers for forgiveness.