A long time ago, in galaxy far, far away, in my church going childhood; I encountered a man who came occasionally to our church.  It was rumored that this man had an alcoholic addiction that kept him from pastoring a church; but deep down he passionately wanted to be known as one who believed in God.  As children, however, we cringed and groaned when this man was called on to pray to close worship for the morning.  Why? Because he “preached” his prayers which meant they were long and loud and included every Christian phrase known to man! It was a sermon after the sermon!

This soul prayed for the deliverance of mankind “from the lowly janitor to the elders and preachers who led the congregation of worshippers and on to the leaders of our nation.” He included all the prayer requests uttered by people over the past six months or so, naming the ailing people one by one with how God could heal them by “His mighty hands and outstretched arms” as the “Great Physician” who can indeed heal and forgive. After a huge sigh, taking a big breath, he would then preach about the lost, noting all the ways that sin brought them low; then prayed for their deliverance as most moms wondered if the roast or chicken would burn in the electric skillets put on hold. 

After a while however; God’s Holy Spirit got a hold of me and reprimanded me.  As I got older as a believer saved by grace, God told me to extend His grace to this man.  Later I began to notice him more closely after his extensive prayers and realized this man, with tears streaming down his face, seemed to be in torment over his own weaknesses and propensity to sin.  In his prayer to God; he was probably closer to the Almighty than the rest of us waiting for his prayer to end so we could get to Sunday lunch! God told me to pray for him as he prayed instead of judging his words!  I will never forget this man and his prayer for forgiveness.  This man was a true worshipper of a God whose habit in sincere worship is forgiveness.

The dedication prayer of Solomon is also long and passionate as he is inviting Almighty God to come and dwell in the new Temple constructed to give Him honor, glory, and praise.  But notice this; King Solomon goes before the people on the platform and humbly kneels before God and in front of the whole assembly of Israel!  Imagine a powerful, earthly king kneeling before God and His People!

With hands toward heaven; King Solomon passionately asks God with every breath, thought, and word uttered to hear and forgive all who come to Him in prayer now and in the ages to come.  This prayer is prophetic as Solomon speaks of future enemies, captivity, possible sins, a turning from God to the Enemy of God.  Solomon attempts to include and request God’s forgiveness for all. Solomon then reminds the people of the promises of God that do not fail and that He will always be with them.  From heaven to earth, for generations to come—His Presence will always be with those who call on His Name with sincere hearts. “There is no one like our God” he declares for all to hear!

AND, stay turned, you won’t believe what happens after the prayer!  It’s way better than a fireworks show after the ballgame!

2 Chronicles 6

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; ² I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

³ While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. ⁴ Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, ⁵ ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁶ But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

⁷ “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. ⁹ Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

¹⁰ “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹ There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ¹³ Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴ He said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. ¹⁵ You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

¹⁶ “Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ ¹⁷ And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.

¹⁸ “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! ¹⁹ Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. ²⁰ May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ²¹ Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

²² “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, ²³ then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

²⁴ “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, ²⁵ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

²⁶ “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, ²⁷ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

²⁸ “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ²⁹ and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— ³⁰ then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart), ³¹ so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

³² “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, ³³ then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

³⁴ “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, ³⁵ then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

³⁶ “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; ³⁷ and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; ³⁸ and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; ³⁹ then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.

⁴⁰ “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

⁴¹ “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
⁴² Lord God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God not only graciously dwells with His people, but He also gives them His Word and faithfully keeps His promises. That’s the major theme here! King Solomon glorified Jehovah by reviewing the history of the building of the temple with future possible occurrences that would require God’s forgiveness. 

Solomon knelt on the special platform near the altar as he prayed, his hands lifted to heaven. Our traditional posture for prayer (“hands folded and eyes closed”) was unknown to the Jews. Their posture was to look up by faith toward God in heaven (or toward the temple) and lift their open hands to show their poverty and their expectancy as they awaited God’s answer (See Ex. 9:29, 33; Ps. 63:4; 88:9; 143:6). This practice was carried over into the early church (1 Timothy 2:8).  Remember it is the heart that God sees as we posture ourselves in prayer.

Warren Wiersbe, Bible scholar comments;

“Solomon closed the prayer with a plea that the Lord not reject him, the anointed king, David’s son and heir. The statement, “Remember the mercies of Your servant David” refers to God’s promises to David in the covenant (2 Sam. 7; Ps. 89:19–29). “The sure mercies of David” (Is. 55:3) include the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, to be the Savior of the world (Acts 13:32–39).

Humanly speaking, the nation of Israel would have perished quickly had not God been faithful to His covenant with David, who was “the lamp of Israel” (2 Sam. 21:17). No matter to what depths the kings and people descended, the Lord preserved a lamp for David and for Israel (2 Chr. 21:7; 1 Kin. 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kin. 8:19; Ps. 132:17). Whether they recognized it or not, the Israelite people were heavily indebted to David for their temple, the instruments and songs used in the temple, the organization of the temple ministry, and the protection from enemy nations. Today we are indebted to the Lord for keeping David’s light shining so that the Savior could come into the world. God chastened His people, but despite the nation’s sins, He did not break His covenant or take away His mercy (1 Kin. 3:6; Ps. 89:28, 33, 49). –Wiersbe Study Bible

Indeed, there is no one like our God!  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

Lord,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We find our story in Your story of love and forgiveness for that is who you are and what you give continuously.  Cleanse our hearts, remove all that does not belong. Renew our minds with higher thoughts of your love. Refresh our souls with your new mercies this morning. Restore the joy of your faithful work of salvation within us. Thank you for loving and caring for us that way you do.  Great is your faithfulness!

In Jesus Name, Amen