"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance." 1 Kings 8:35-36

This scripture is from King Solomon's prayer of dedication as he dedicated the newly built Temple in Jerusalem. I suggest you please read this chapter in full to get a complete understanding of the context:

King Solomon considers a wide range of requests in his prayer at the dedication. He is standing at the alter, in front of the whole congregation of Israelites, attired in his royal clothes and the royal diadem, his hands raised upwards towards the heavens, his face lifted up, his voice loud and clear as he submits his requests one after another,  which also includes requests to send rain for his people and his land.

A King praying for his citizens is hard to even imagine. Imagine the leader of our respective countries praying for you and me! Prayer comes from deep within ones heart, which only implies how dedicated King Solomon was for his nation and his people and how eager he was pleading on their behalf for their rain.

He prayed: when God has shut up the heavens from rain because of the people's wrong doing, and if and when they repent and come back to Him, then God should be merciful to forgive them of their sins and open the heavens of rain.

I absolutely love how he ends this passage. He prays: "Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance."

I can't help relating his prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ's plea to the Father intervening for us. Which means that even in this modern age we have a King pleading our case. Let us live up to His expectations and get forgiveness from the Father so that our rain won't delay any further.