It’s like a dream isn’t it? God asking you what you would like to have and then granting it.
What would you have asked for?
I could think of a lot of things. My house loan paid off. A better job. Perfect fluency in Japanese. (I am, after all, living in Japan). That my diabetes and ulcers would go away and never come back. The list goes on and on.
Solomon too could’ve asked for anything. More money. More power. But instead, he asked for something else.
He said,
O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.
Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.
For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (1 Kings 3:7-9)
I think there were two things that really pleased God about Solomon’s request.
First, Solomon’s humility. That Solomon didn’t think he knew it all. That he acknowledged that he needed God’s wisdom to take on the task of running the nation.
Second, that the request was not so much for himself, but for God’s people. Solomon didn’t ask for wisdom to boost his own pride.
Rather, he wanted wisdom so that he could govern God’s people properly. That he could do the things that God had called him to do.
And that should be our priority too. God’s kingdom, and God’s people.
For me, that starts with my family, and spreads outward from there. That I would be the father and husband that I need to be. And God knows just how much I need wisdom for that.
My wife is already a Christian, but I do want to help her to grow to be the woman God wants her to be.
And my daughter at just under three years old, isn’t a Christian yet. I definitely need wisdom for raising her in a way that would cause her to seek and love the Lord.
It then extends to the people in my workplace, my neighborhood, and my church.
It’s so easy to let other things get in the way of reaching out to people for the kingdom of God. Often times it comes down to selfishness. Thinking of only my wants and my needs.
But Jesus said that we are to seek his kingdom first, not the things of this world. And that if we do, everything else we need will be added to us. (Matthew 6:33).
What are you seeking from God?
Are you seeking what he’s seeking? The spread of his kingdom here on earth? Or are you too focused on the things of this earth?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 