2 Chronicles 6:32 says, Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Solomon then began to instruct them about strangers, people who were not born in Israel, who came to the temple to worship. We are all strangers to God until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and once we do accept Him there is no separation between us. Verse thirty-three adds, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. Solomon asked that God hear the prayers of the strangers who came accepting Him as their God and then came to the temple to worship Him. He asked that this be done so that the whole world would know about the greatness of God and that the temple was built to honor and glorify God. God still calls all people to Him today, and if they accept His gift of salvation, He will always hear their prayers. Verse thirty-four continues, If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Solomon then referred to the people of Israel who went to war against the people of the world and their praying toward the city and the temple. We as Christians are at war with the forces of evil today, and we must always pray to God as we engage int the battle, but we don't need to look to a particular place when we pray. We only need to come by faith in Jesus Christ. Verse thirty-five concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. Solomon asked that if they sought God's guidance and strength that He would hear them and give it to them. One thing we can be sure of is that if we pray to God for wisdom and strength as followers of Christ, He will hear us and answer our prayer. Verse thirty-six states, If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Solomon then made a plea for the people if they sinned against God and stated that everyone sinned. He talked about God becoming angry with the people of Israel, His chosen people, because of their sin and His allowing them to be defeated by another nation. We as Christians are still going to sin at times, I believe, and God is going to be upset with us because of our sin, but He will never allow us to be spiritually defeated forever. Once we are saved, we are God's child forever. Verse thirty-seven adds, Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; Solomon continued to talk to God about the people who had sinned and were carried away captive who then repented of their sins and called on God again. If we have allowed sin back into our lives as Christians and have fallen captive to it, we must repent and ask God for forgiveness to be restored to all that we should be spiritually. The people of Israel in captivity were still God's chosen people to work through, and even if we give in to sin as Christians, we are still one of God's people and He will call us to repentance and restore us when we repent and ask forgiveness. Verse thirty-eight continues, If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: This verse is a continuation of Solomon's talking to God about the people in captivity for their sins repenting and calling on Him again. Verse thirty-nine concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. Solomon asked God in the situation where His people were in captivity because of their sin and repented that He would hear and forgive them. We can be certain that as followers of Christ, even if we have sinned again, if we repent and ask God's forgiveness, He will hear us and forgive us. Verse forty says, Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Solomon asked God to look on the temple and hear his prayer. Jesus Christ is the true temple of God, and if we pray to Him, God will see us and hear our prayers. Verse forty-one adds, Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. Solomon was basically asking God to enter the temple as His resting place and to let the priests be clothed in salvation. As I have stated before, as followers of Christ, our bodies are the temples of God, and the Holy Spirit indwells us as His resting place, and we have God's salvation forever. Verse forty-two continues, O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant. As Solomon asked then, God is never going to turn His face away from those who are His, even if we fall back into sin. He is always going to have His arms outstretched to welcome us home.
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