Then I will Hear from Heaven

In my daily reading for today, I read Solomon’s magnificent prayer in II Chronicles, chapter 6. This prayer ranks with the most majestic prayers found anywhere in the Bible.

Here’s the background: King David has died without fulfilling his passionate desire to build a temple for his Lord. His son Solomon builds the temple and convenes Israel to an enormous celebration to dedicate the temple and inaugurate the temple sacrifices.

What a Celebration!

II Chronicles devotes three chapters to this celebration. They had a huge feast, they sacrificed thousands of animals, the Levites sang and played instruments, and it was all wonderful.

Best of all, the Levites carried the Ark of the Covenant and placed it in the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of the temple. Suddenly the temple was filled with a cloud so thick that the priests couldn’t stand and do their work.

At the very end, Solomon spoke to the people from a bronze platform that he had built for himself for the occasion.  Then he knelt on it and stretched out his hands toward heaven as he prayed.

What a Prayer!

And what a prayer!  As I said, it is one of the most majestic prayers in the Bible.

We could study it exhaustively and learn exhaustively. Here, I am just meditating over the words, “hear from heaven.”

Solomon earnestly entreats the Lord seven times in this prayer to “hear from heaven” when his people pray. But first, he observes that “heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You.” II Chron 6:18.

Let’s just stop and think for a moment about a heaven that cannot contain God.  What kind of a heaven is this? Does God really live in a place that is too small for Him?  For that matter, how big is God?  I’ll have to think for a long time about these things.

Whatever its features, this is the heaven that Solomon asks God to hear from. We know from four of the quotes below that heaven is God’s dwelling place.

Seven-fold Request

Here are the seven times in II Chronicles 6 that Solomon asks God to hear from heaven:

Hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; hear and forgive (verse 21).
Then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants (verse 23).
Then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel (verse 25).
Then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive (verses 29-30).
Then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You (verse 33).
Then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause (verse 35).
Then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer, and supplications, and maintain their cause and forgive Your people who have sinned against You (verse 39).

Yes, He Really Does Hear from Heaven
All of these verses bless us because we know that God really does hear from heaven, His dwelling place, when we pray to Him.  How do we know? We know because that very night God appeared to Solomon and said:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)

In this verse, God promises to hear from heaven when we pray to Him.

Does God hear from heaven today in the 21st century?  Indeed He does!  So we can pray confidently before Him, knowing that He will indeed hear from heaven and forgive our sins and grant our need.