2 Chronicles 6:12

2 Chronicles 6:12 says, And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:  Solomon then stood before all the people of Israel and spread his hands out to them.  He was now going to pray for the consecration of the temple.  Jesus Christ stands before us today with His arms outstretched asking us to be consecrated to Him.  Just as Solomon knew that only God could consecrate the temple, only Jesus Christ can consecrate us today, and we need to accept Him as our Savior and Lord and pray to Him that we will always be consecrated to Him.  Verse thirteen adds, For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.  Solomon had a brazen scaffold made so he could be above the people so they could see him, but he kneeled on the scaffold to show his humility before God and then spread his hands toward heaven to in appeal to God.  Even if we are in a position of authority in the church today, we need to let people know that we are humbled before God.  Solomon did not do this to call attention to himself, but to call attention to God and that should be our desire today.  Verse fourteen continues, And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:  Solomon began by acknowledging that there is but one God, and thanking Him for His mercy toward those who walked before Him with all their heart.  In order to be saved, we must acknowledge that there is but one God and thank Him for showing His mercy to us, even before we walked in His ways.  Just as God kept His covenant with the people of Israel, He will keep His covenant with us today if we have entered into that covenant relationship by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and we should always be thankful to Him for that.  Verse fifteen states, Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.  Solomon said that God had fulfilled His promise to David that day, and one day, God is going to fulfill His promise to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and take us to our heavenly home.  Verse sixteen adds, Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.  Solomon then asked that God fulfill His promise to David that one of his descendants would always sit on the throne of Israel, and this promise was fulfilled with Jesus Christ, a descendant of David and the eternal King of God's people.  Solomon also said that this applied to those who obeyed God, and God's promise of salvation can only come through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and then we need to be obedient to Him.  Still, we will not lose that covenant relationship even if we fail to obey Him at all times.  Verse seventeen continues, Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.  Solomon then asked for God to let His word that He spoke to David be verified, and we can rest assured that once God has made a promise, we have no need to ask Him to verify it.  Verse eighteen says, But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!  Solomon the acknowledged that even the heavens could not contain God, so why would he expect a house that he built to contain Him.  We should never attempt to confine God to church buildings.  Verse nineteen adds, Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:  Solomon then asked God to hear his prayer, and as followers of Christ, God will always hear and answer our prayers.  We may not want to acknowledge the answer when it comes, but our prayers will always be answered.  Verse twenty continues, That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.  Solomon then said that God had promised to be with them in the place His name had been put, the temple, both day and night.  We have the assurance that as Christians God will be with us day and night, since the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  Verse twenty-one concludes, Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.  Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of the people from His dwelling place, which was not the temple but the heavens and for Him to forgive the people of Israel when they sinned.  God is still in the heavens, and He will hear our prayers and if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, He has already forgiven our sins.  Still, we need to lift up our prayers to Him, even if He already knows what we need.