2 Chronicles 6:12-41
[12]Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar and raised his arms in prayer.
[13](Solomon had made a bronze platform and put it in the middle of the courtyard. It was 2.2 metres square and 1.3 metres high. He mounted this platform, knelt down where everyone could see him, and raised his hands towards heaven.)
[14]He prayed, “Lord God of Israel, in all heaven and earth there is no god like you. You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you.
[15]You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled.
[16]Now, Lord God of Israel, keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided that they carefully obeyed your Law just as he did.
[17]So now, Lord God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to your servant David.
[18]“But can you, O God, really live on earth among men and women? Not even all heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough?
[19]Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you.
[20]Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshipped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray.
[21]Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.
[22]“When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent,
[23]O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one as he deserves and acquit the one who is innocent.
[24]“When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness,
[25]listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to them and to their ancestors.
[26]“When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you,
[27]O Lord, listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.
[28]“When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them,
[29]listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer towards this Temple,
[30]hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven and forgive them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each person as he deserves,
[31]so that your people may honour you and obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.
[32]“When foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and then they come to pray at this Temple,
[33]listen to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is where you are to be worshipped.
[34]“When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you,
[35]listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.
[36]“When your people sin against you — and there is no one who does not sin — and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away,
[37]listen to your people’s prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord.
[38]If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face towards this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you,
[39]then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them and forgive all the sins of your people.
[40]“Now, O my God, look on us and listen to the prayers offered in this place.
[41]Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here for ever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them.
My summary main points:
- No God like you in heaven or no earth, a God who keep promises vs13..;
- As long as love and obey Him, He will bless us vs16;
- Even highest heavens, cannot contain Him vs 18;
- Plea for mercy vs 19;
- Hear from heaven….when you hear, forgive vs 21;
- Pray for justice vs 23
- Pray for forgiveness of sins when the people repented vs 24, 30, 36;
- Individual accountability for sins committed vs 30;
- Pray for rain vs 26
- Pray for deliverance from famine, plague, mildew, locusts, disasters, diseases;
- God alone knows the hearts of men vs 30
- Pray for foreigner
- Pray for deliverance from enemies when go to war vs 34