In the Davidic Kingdom did God listen to prayers uttered in or towards the temple in a different way than those that were not?
It is important to note that Solomon makes it clear that only a certain type of prayer "toward" the temple would be efficacious. When Israel or "any man" of Israel (v. 38), has sinned to the extent that they now need to be delivered from that sin's consequences, a prayer toward the temple has to be accompanied by some inner realities. Israel must turn again to the Lord and confess his name (v.33), turn from their sin (v. 35), repent (v. 47), and "return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul" (v. 48). And the Lord's response will be to every man "according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest" (v. 39).
As with any ordinance, it was an "outward sign of an inward reality" or it meant nothing at all. The bread and water of the sacrament mean nothing without a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The waters of baptism wash away nothing of any significance if the ordinance is not entered into with "real intent" to take upon one's self the name of Christ and to follow him (2 Nephi 31:13).
So what was the role of the temple in a prayer uttered towards it by the Children of Israel in the time of the Davidic monarchy? Like any outward observance the Lord gives to his people, it was a symbol that served to focus their intentions and their faith. To do it in the prescribed way was a sign of their obedience of and their conformity to the Lord's revealed instructions.
In our own day President Hunter called upon the Saints to "establish the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of their membership." He asked us to make maintaining and using a temple recommend a kind of focus that showed our commitment to the restored gospel.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/10/the-great-symbol-of-our-membership?lang=eng
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