For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation…here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
—Psalm 132:13-14
Here you have the one great desire of God that moved Him in the work of redemption. His heart longed for man; He desired to dwell with him and in him.
To Moses He said, “And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). And just as Israel had to prepare the dwelling for God, His children are now called to yield themselves to God so that He might dwell in them and they might win others to become His habitation.
What an honor! What a high calling, to count my worldly business as entirely secondary, and to find my life and my delight in winning souls in whom God may find His heart’s delight! “Here will I dwell, for I have desired it.”
And this is what I can do through intercession. I can pray for those around me, that God would give them His Holy Spirit. God’s great plan is that man himself will build Him a habitation. In answer to the unceasing intercession of His children, God will give His power and blessing. As this great desire of God fills us, we will give ourselves wholly to work for its fulfillment.
When David thought of God’s desire to dwell in Israel, he said, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob” (Psalm 132:4). And since it has been revealed to us what that indwelling of God may be, should we not give our lives for the fulfillment of His heart’s desire?
Oh, let us begin, as never before, to pray for our children, for the souls around us, and for all the world—not only because we love them, but especially because God longs for them and gives us the honor of being the channels through whom His blessings are brought down upon them. Children of God, awaken to the realization that God is seeking to train you as intercessors, through whom the great desire of His loving heart can be satisfied!
O God, who has said of human hearts, “Here will I dwell, for I have desired it,” teach us to pray, day and night, that the desire of Your heart may be fulfilled. Amen.