Chiasms of Prayer

Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple begins with a prayer structured as a double chiasm (2 Chronicles 6:14–21). The first runs from verses 14–17:

A. Yahweh, God of Israel, you keep covenant, v 14a

B. to servants who walk before you, v 14b

C. You have kept (shamar) what you spoke to David, v 15a

D. You spoke with your mouth, fulfilled with your hand, v 15b

C’. Yahweh, God of Israel, keep (shamar) what you spoke to David, v 16a

B’. You shall have a man on the throne, if your sons walk as you walked, v 16b

A’. Yahweh, God of Israel, confirm the word you spoke, v 17

If we follow the three uses of the title “Yahweh, God of Israel,” the prayer breaks down into two sections, the first a declaration that God is loyal to His covenant and the second a request that He be loyal to His covenant, from indicative to subjunctive. Both sections begin with the divine name, and the prayer ends with a third use of His name. The logic of the prayer’s argument is: You keep covenant in general; you have kept your word to David; therefore, keep your word to David. At the center of the prayer is a statement about Yahweh’s integrity. He has mouth-hand coordination; what He speaks He performs. His hand is the “Amen” to His word (‘aman is “confirm” in v. 17).

The second portion of the prayer (vv. 18–21) is also a chiasm of prayer:

A. Heaven cannot contain Elohim, much less this house, v 18

B. Turn Your face to prayer and supplication of Your servant, v 19a

C. Hear the cry and prayer Your servant prays, v 19b

D. Open your eyes toward this house, put name there, v 20a

C’. To hear the prayer of Your servant, v 20b

B’. Hear the supplications of Your Servant and Your people when they pray, v 21a

A’. Hear from heaven, v 21b

While Yahweh cannot be confined to the house (A), the house amplifies prayer so He hears in heaven (A’). Solomon asks that Yahweh “my Elohim” would hear his prayer (“Your servant,” vv. 19 [2x], 20, 21), but in the end Israel’s prayers are gathered up with Solomon’s: “hear the supplications of Your servant and Your people Israel.” Yahweh is, after all, not just the king’s God but “Yahweh, God of Israel” (vv. 14, 16, 17). 

The center of this second chiasm resembles that of the first; both speak of the organs of Yahweh’s body. The first states that Yahweh’s hand follows up to accomplish what He commits to with His mouth, and the second is a prayer that the Lord’s eyes would be open to hear. Putting them together, we have this scenario: Yahweh’s eyes and (implicitly) His ears are open to the temple; He has said He will respond to the prayer of His people; when He hears their prayer, He stretches out His hand to accomplish what He has spoken. 

Solomon’s theology of prayer depends on understanding the relation of heaven and earth (shamaim frames both chiasms, vv. 14, 18 [2x], 21; cf.vv. 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39; 8x in the seven petitions, 12x in the entire prayer). Heaven is above earth, and Yahweh is greater than heaven (v. 18). Heaven is the source of help, the help Israel needs in every distress—just judgment, victory, rain, healing, return from exile, and, above all, forgiveness. Only the God who exceeds heaven itself can supply these. Earth isn’t autonomous; it’s not a buffered place, immune from influence from outside. On the contrary: The events of earth depend on the fact that earth is porous to heaven. Yahweh the incomparable God of heaven isn’t remote from Israel or from Gentiles who hear the fame of Israel’s heroic God. The temple enables prayers from earth to be heard in heaven because Yahweh’s eyes and name are there in the place He has chosen. When prayers are directed to the temple, they resound in heaven and the God of heaven, who has spoken, responds with His hand.