Friday Word for the Weekend: Solomon’s Request
I have to admit my prayers are often about myself and my desires. It’s easy to make a list of requests for God that resembles the list I make for the grocery store. I list out my needs and expect God to fill my cart. But is that pleasing to God?
In 1 Kings 3, King David died and his son Solomon becomes King. God comes to Solomon in a dream and gives him the opportunity to ask for anything he wishes. One would think Solomon might ask for power, or fame, or riches. But did he? No, Solomon’s request was for wisdom to govern God’s people and a discerning heart to know right from wrong. With humility, Solomon admitted that he was like a youth who needed God’s wisdom and guidance. And, 1 Kings tells us that God was pleased with Solomon. In fact, he was so pleased, He gave Solomon wisdom and in addition, he gave him riches and fame.
Solomon’s request brings to mind 1 John 5:14-15 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.”
Many times our requests are about ourselves and making demands rather than God’s will. Solomon wanted wisdom to serve God in the position God had placed him in. We need to be careful to consider our requests and seek God’s will in them rather than our own. Then we can trust God’s promise to hear us and give us what we ask for.
© 2019 Robin R King
1 Kings 3:5-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
6 Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!
