How to pray a blessing prayer (2 Chron 6.4-6)

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David, saying, ’Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, so that my name might be there, and I chose no one as ruler over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem in order that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’

Background

After the blessing prayer by the priests and musicians, Solomon addresses the people, assembled in front of the new Temple. He also offers a prayer—a blessing upon God for what He has done.

The prayer begins with the traditional address that we have seen so many times: ”Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.“ Then, as we have often seen in the longer blessings prayers, he gives the reason for it: God has fulfilled the promise that he made to David (1 Chron 17).¹ David had wanted to build God a Temple, but God said ”no.“ Instead, He promised that his son would build it. Solomon stands before the completed Temple. The rest of the prayer expands on that promise, providing further details about its history. Since the Exodus from Egypt, God had no permanent dwelling—until that day.

Meaning

The dedication story is also found in the historical narrative in 1 Kings 5.7. There, Solomon also gives a short introductory prayer near the beginning of the dedication ceremony. But the prayers are not the same—the authors are retelling the essence of what Solomon prayed, and each one emphasizes certain elements. Having studied First and Second Chronicles so far, we would expect that this version would highlight the Temple. The Chronicler does not disappoint us.² Both versions of the prayer are Solomon’s introduction, followed by a longer prayer in dedication of the Temple.

Solomon’s blessing, at that moment, could only be a proclamation of God’s greatness in keeping promises. He did so for David, and now He is doing so for Solomon. When we are grateful to God for something, we usually to turn to thanksgiving. While appropriate, we can enrich our prayers by using a blessing for this purpose, too. Instead of just thanking God for a particular thing he has done, we bless him for God’s characteristic that leads Him to bless us.

The last part of the prayer focuses on God’s choice of Jerusalem, likening it to the same kind of covenant that God made with Moses at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Solomon connects his delight in God’s promise to His past promises to all Israel. We can make those connections in our prayers as well by comparing it with a past blessing from God.

Application

Think of something you are thankful for today. Consider what characteristic of God is related to the blessing. Then think of a benefit or blessing that God has given you. Using those elements, offer a prayer of blessing for the benefit, instead of a regular prayer of thanksgiving. Try to avoid ”thank you for…“ language: use the model of Solomon’s prayer above.

1. See “Responding to God’s Goodness with Prayer (1 Chron 17.16-27)” and David’s prayer after God’s promise. (The parallel is in 2 Samuel 7.) ↩
2. See “Praying for the Temple (Pt 1) (1 Kings 8.15–6).” ↩