Three Elements of Prayer Taught by King Solomon | 1 Kings 8:22-30

January 13th, 2023

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

1 Kings 8:22-30

First, we see the posture of King Solomon’s heart. He has a proper understanding of Who God is and who we are in comparison to God. Solomon opens His prayer by immediately saying in verse 23, “There is no God like You.” This is the proper posture of the heart of prayer as we begin our communion with God. We need to recognize the Sovereignty and the Supremacy of God. We must acknowledge the power of God unto salvation.

The Posture of Prayer has to do with our heart being right and being reconciled before a Holy God. The Posture of Prayer is to recognize the Sovereignty of God in all things. The Posture of Prayer for our heart is to acknowledge the Supremacy of God in all of life. The Posture of Prayer for our heart is to understand that we are coming before the Throne of a Holy God! It is to acknowledge that “The Lord our God, He is God, and that there is no other.”

King Solomon begins his prayer with the recognition of Who God is. He begins his prayer with the Posture of his heart being focused on Yahweh.

Secondly, we can see the position of Solomon’s will. He has a desire to yield his will in submission to the will of God. Solomon recognizes and acknowledges the Faithfulness of God. He says, “You have kept the covenant… You have shown steadfast love to your servants… You have kept David as You said You would…” Then he ends this thought by saying, “What Your mouth said that You would do, You did!”

King Solomon is recognizing the faithfulness of God! And in doing this, he is Positioning his will in Submission to the Lord our God. King Solomon is kneeling in Submission to God. He is Surrendering his will to God. He is yielding his will to God’s will.

This is what happens when we recognize the Faithfulness of God! We position our will to surrender and to submit to the will of God for our life.

Thirdly, we see that King Solomon Petitions for his soul. After Posturing His Heart to recognize the Sovereignty of God, Solomon Positions His will to kneel before God in Submission to the Lord’s will and then Solomon Petitions that his soul would find Satisfaction in the outcome of God’s will no matter what that is.

Verses 25 and 26 is a picture of Solomon’s Petition before Almighty God. He is making a request before God. He is respectfully and humbly requesting or Petitioning to the Ultimate Authority that Israel would continue to have a man of God sitting on the throne as king of the nation. And in Petitioning this, he is asking that God would give him a desire to find satisfaction in the will of God.

Look in verse 26. Solomon says, “Let Your Word be confirmed…” What Solomon is saying is: “Let me find satisfaction in your will!” He is saying: “Give me strength to obey You!” He is saying: “My desire is to follow Your way! Keep me on the right path.” Solomon is Petitioning to God: “Help me pay close attention to my walk!”

This should be our Petition before the Holy, Righteous, Sovereign, Supreme Ruler of all of Time, Space, Matter and Energy. He is in total control. He is Perfect and Pure and Holy.

Not only do we Posture our heart to recognize God. Not only do we Position our will to be in submission to his will. But we must also Petition that our soul would be Satisfied in whatever God chooses to come to pass in our life. We must ask God to give us Satisfaction in His Sufficiency for our life!