1 Kings 8:54

1 Kings 8:54 says, And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.  Solomon had prayed on his knees with his hands spread to heaven, and when he was finished, he got up.  There are several ways that different people think we should pray today, but as long as we are humble before God, that is the main issue.  Verse fifty-five adds, And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,  After Solomon stood from praying, he the blessed all the people of Israel, or I believe asked God's blessing on them, since we really can't bless people.  Verse fifty-six continues, Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.  Solomon began by asking that God be blessed by the people for His goodness and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to them.  We should bless or praise God today as well, because He will always fulfill His promises to us as long as we are faithful to Him.  Verse fifty-seven states, The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:   Solomon continued to ask that God be with them and not leave or forsake them.  As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with us and will never leave or forsake us.  Verse fifty-eight adds, That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.  Solomon then asked that the people incline their hearts toward God, so that they would keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments that He had given to their fathers.  God's law has not changed, and we as Christians must live under its authority.  Verse fifty-nine continues, And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:  Solomon asked that his words be close to God day and night, and that He hear the people any time they might inquire of Him.  One thing that we can be certain of is that God will be with us and hear us at all times when we call out to Him, because the Holy Spirit indwells us once we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse sixty says, That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.  Solomon asked that God do this so that all the people on the earth, and not just those of Isarael, would know that He was God.  Our actions as followers of Christ today should lead others to acknowledge God, even if they don't know Him in a personal relationship.  Verse sixty-one adds, Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.  Like Solomon asked of the people of Israel then we must make our hearts perfect with the Lord or walk by faith in Him.  Verse sixty-two continues, And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.  Solomon and all the people of Israel then offered a sacrifice before the Lord.  The only sacrifice that we can offer to God today that really matters is the sacrifice of ourselves to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse sixty-three states, And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.  Solomon then offered a peace offering as they dedicated the house of the Lord.  As Christians, we should be dedicated to God and thereby live at peace with Him, even if we are at war with the world.  Verse sixty-four adds, The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.  The same day, Solomon hallowed, or dedicated the middle of the inner court to God, because that was where sacrifices were made.  We need to dedicate the inner most part of ourselves to God, because we have sacrificed ourselves to Him.  Verse sixty-five continues, And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.  Solomon then had a great feast to God with all the people of Israel that lasted fourteen days.  Verse sixteen concludes, On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.  This says on the eighth day they went home, blessing Solomon with gladness in their hearts for the goodness that God had shown to David his servant through all that Solomon had now accomplished.  They saw this as a fulfillment of the promise God had made to David.  Whatever we accomplish as Christians today is a result of a promise made to Jesus Christ by is Heavenly Father.  Since the feast was divided into two seven-day periods, I assume this was at the end of the second one. We need to always thank God for the goodness that He has shown us by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die in our place.  We should do this individually and as a nation.