1 Kings 8:49 (ASV)

Passage

then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:47 yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;

1 Kings 8:48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

1 Kings 8:49 then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;

1 Kings 8:50 and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

1 Kings 8:51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hear", "thou", "prayer", "supplication", "heaven", "dwelling-place", "maintain", and "cause". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hear" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 48's "if they return unto thee with all..." into verse 50's "and forgive thy people who have sinned...", so "hear" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hear" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.