Solomon's Prayer

Solomon’s prayer.  There were a couple of things that stood out to me about Solomon’s prayer when I read today’s reading.  First, I noticed that his position changed.  We read, “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven” (1 Kings 8:22).  So, in that verse, we have a picture of Solomon standing with his hands outstretched toward heaven praying.  However, we then read, “When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven” (1 Kings 8:54).  It would seem then that Solomon goes from standing to kneeling at some point.  Now, that might not seem significant to some, but it stood out to me this time.  Why would that be?  I don’t have the answer, but when you think about the content of Solomon’s prayer, he is pleading with God to have mercy upon Israel by being long-suffering towards them for sins that they had not yet even committed.  Remember, Solomon is asking God to dwell amongst Israel by His presence in the Temple (not that an earthly building can contain God, but that it signifies His presence) (1 Kings 8:27-29).  Solomon essentially is asking for a future state when Israel fails and falls away from the Lord, that if they return to God, praise His name, and pray and plead with God in the temple, that God would hear in heaven and forgive their sin (v.33-34).