1 Kings 8:22
And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
This verse introduces and begins Solomon's dedication prayer for the temple he was employed to build, his most remarkable prayer, offered while he was serving God in close relationship. He stood before the altar in the presence of all the gathered congregation of Israel and spread his hands toward heaven as he began to pray. He stood on a brazen scaffold before the altar to bless the people, then knelt with his hands raised upward to offer earnest and solemn prayer while the congregation bowed with their faces to the ground.
The prayer expresses deep humility and devotion, need for divine power, and Israel's dependence on the God of Israel. In the prayer he asks God to hear prayers directed toward the temple, to forgive, and to respond with justice and mercy. He prays for Israel that the people will remain faithful to God and that their hearts will be wholly devoted to him. The temple is a place for prayer and meeting for worship where sincere worshipers receive blessing, not a dwelling that can contain God, whose dwelling is heaven. God meets His people by His Spirit when they gather and visits and encourages them in their homes and wherever they are, so they can worship Him in every place, for He is not confined to a temple as the heathen gods were thought to be.
When he ended the prayer, God answered by sending miraculous fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice. That faithful beginning, after remarkable manifestations of divine power and precious views of the divine character, stands in contrast to his later course, when through ties to idolaters and his wives' influence he forsook the very temple to worship idols and became a seducer of the people into idolatry, contradicting the prayer he had offered. His example shows that men occupying positions of sacred trust and teaching truth to others can become unfaithful and turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. So those God has made the repository of His law need clearer and increased light from heaven, carefulness, distrust of self, stripping of self-sufficiency and spiritual pride, humble views of their own wisdom and insufficiency, and the sense that they are kept by the power of God through faith.