1 Kings 8:28 (WEB)

Passage

Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you today;

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:26 “Now therefore, God of Israel, please let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.

1 Kings 8:27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

1 Kings 8:28 Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you today;

1 Kings 8:29 that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to listen to the prayer which your servant prays toward this place.

1 Kings 8:30 Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "respect", "prayer", "servant", "supplication", "yahweh", and "listen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "respect" and "prayer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "But will God in very deed dwell..." into verse 29's "that your eyes may be open toward...", so "respect" and "prayer" 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 "respect" and "prayer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.