The Rich Variety Available In Prayer (1 Kings 8.56–61)

“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 through his servant Moses. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. Let these words of mine, with which I 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; so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. (Therefore devote yourselves completely to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.)”

Background

Just when we think Solomon has finished his prayer of dedication, he prays again. Important events in the Bible are often accompanied by many prayers, and the completion of the Temple was one of the major events in the history of Israel (along with the Exodus and the Exile). This short prayer is a good example of the richness and variety of prayer.

Solomon gets up from his knees in front of the altar, turns to the crowd, and raises his hands to begin this prayer. It is a prayer of blessing and petitions/intercessions which are also serving some other functions (see below). The primary reason for the prayer is that God be made known in all the world.¹

Meaning

The prayer opens with a blessing on God for giving “rest” to the people and keeping His promises to Moses. Solomon could have offered a standard thanksgiving: “Thank you, God, for giving us rest and keeping your promises.” Instead, he phrases it as a blessing upon God, another example of the richness of prayer and that the types are not so clearly divided.