Solomon, the tenth son born to King David, was the successor to the throne when David died. Solomon started building the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. After many years the Temple was completed, and King Solomon gathered in Jerusalem the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, and brought the ark of the covenant and placed it in the Temple in the most holy place,
Afterward, Solomon, since he was a king and not a priest, stood outside the Temple, spreading his hands toward heaven, and prayed publicly to God in front of the people. First, Solomon acknowledged the covenant-keeping God and then praised Him for who He was to Israel and recalled the promises of God to King David. The body of Solomon’s prayer was that of intercession for Israel. Using various scenarios of Israel sinning and being out of place, Solomon asked God to hear in heaven and forgive, judge, restore
God responded and appeared to Solomon a second time and addressed Solomon’s prayer request. God told him, “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).