May 24, 2026
Solomon's Prayer
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
If you could ask God for anything, what would you ask for?
1 Chronicles 22:7 NIV
David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God.”
1 Chronicles 22:8 NIV
“But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.”
1 Chronicles 22:9 NIV
“But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.”
1 Chronicles 22:10 NIV
“He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”
2 Chronicles 1:1 NIV
Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
2 Chronicles 1:6-7 NIV
Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
2 Chronicles 1:8-9 NIV
Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.”
2 Chronicles 1:10 NIV
“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Proverbs 3:13-14a NIV
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver,
Proverbs 3:14b-15 NIV
and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
2 Chronicles 1:11 NIV
God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king,”
2 Chronicles 1:12 NIV
“therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”
James 4:2-3 NIV
You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
2 Chronicles 2:1 NIV
Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.
2 Chronicles 5:13a NIV
The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 5:13b-14b NIV
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service (i.e. could not stand) because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
Glory (kavod) = weight, heavy
God’s presence is significant and weighty.
2 Chronicles 6:20 NIV
“May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.”
- Exodus 13 — The pillar of cloud leads Israel out of Egypt.
- Exodus 19 — God descends on Sinai in cloud and fire.
- Exodus 40:34–35 — The exact same thing happens at the tabernacle’s dedication: Moses himself cannot enter because the cloud fills it.
Each of the 7 sections of Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6 follows a pattern:
sin → consequence → repentance → prayer toward Jerusalem/Temple → forgiveness and healing.
2 Chronicles 7:1 NIV
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
2 Chronicles 7:2 NIV
The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it.
2 Chronicles 7:3 NIV
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 7:12 NIV
the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.”
2 Chronicles 7:13 NIV
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,”
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
“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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”