What Do You Want?
Imagine the Lord appearing to you in a dream, inquiring of your greatest desire and affirming that He will indeed do it. Oh how ecstatic we’d be! I wonder what our compilation of requests would consist of. Maybe increased finances. Possibly healing. Or even a spouse with a side of children. None of these desires are bad especially considering that it takes finances to survive and further more, to advance the Kingdom of God. Or the fact that Jesus healed not only as an act of kindness and compassion but importantly an act of war against the forces of darkness; setting captives free. Lastly, marriage is God’s design not to secure a ring and live happily ever after, but to live as one walking testimony displaying the sacrificial love of Christ to the body of believers. And as for children, they’re entrusted to us in order that we raise them up in the ways of God. All in all, God’s glory could most definitely be revealed if any of these desires were granted to us.
However, if we are honest, most of our requests would stem from a place of self and the desire to live a life of comfort. Would the Kingdom and glory of God, being established in the earth even cross our minds? If not, don’t be discouraged. Thankfully, the Lord perfects us through and through so that our hearts begin to align with His. By His love, power and grace along with our submission and surrendered hearts; He can take us from carnal-minded to Kingdom minded. And it all starts right in His Word!
In 1 Kings 3, we see God ask King Solomon the very question I asked you in the beginning of today’s writing. Verses 5-10 record,
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.
First, let me just point out how verse five is a picture of God’s never-changingness! Because though this is an Old Testament account, He continues to encourage us throughout the New Testament that if we ask of anything in the name of Jesus, in alignment with His will; it will be given to us (John 14:13). He also reminds us that we sometimes don’t receive because we do not ask or persist. And other times we don’t receive because we ask with selfish motives (James 4:3). However, this was not the case for King Solomon in our focus verse.
Before Solomon even makes his request to the Lord, he acknowledges God’s faithfulness to his father, David. In essence, Solomon is saying, “I know You to be a faithful and loving God, just from looking at the life of my father, David. And because of Your love to him, You’ve even blessed me to be king.” (Can someone say generational blessings?!) Anyway, Solomon praises and exalts the Lord first and foremost. But what he says next is just as admirable. The king acknowledges his own weakness and inability to rule in his own strength. Oh how far we’d go with this level of humility. If we would dare confess, “Lord, I have no clue what I’m doing, but you do. Please help me”, what mighty works we’d see in our lives and furthermore in ourselves. See, Solomon did not have an attitude of entitlement. That just because his father, his own blood, triumphantly ruled as king ; that he’d too be successful.
May we never look to the left or right of us and assume the perceived blessings in another person’s life should be our outcome too. God chooses, blesses and uses whomever He sees fit and His ways are much higher than ours. Furthermore He is just. King Solomon understood this. And because of this understanding, his request to the Lord were not tangible or self-benefiting. He did not ask God according to what he felt he deserved in order to live a luxurious life. No, Solomon asked for something that was lasting and advantageous to both the Kingdom of God, God’s people and Solomon’s character and victory. He asked for the very attribute that God’s Word instructs us to treasure more than gold and silver. Solomon asks for an understanding heart to rule and live in accordance to God’s will; which is perfect. Essentially, he asked God for wisdom, in which Solomon would certainly need in order to rule as king in a way that would glorify God.
This wisdom from the Lord would eventually enable Solomon to rule so successfully, that he’d go on to build the first temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, all of the people of Israel and Judah lived contently having plenty, they lived in safety and peace and each family possessed their own home and garden (1Kings 4:20, 25). Because of his humble request, Solomon would be the wisest man to ever live, an entire nation would benefit from it and God would be glorified. What’s more is that we too, reap the benefit of Solomon’s wisdom as he authored 3,000 Proverbs and 1,000 songs(1 Kings 4:32). A vast amount of these writings can be found in the book of Proverbs which is popularly known as the book of wisdom. In God’s faithfulness, He used the humble heart of one man to write a playbook for us to live in such a way, we’d be prosperous if we align ourselves with the word of God and treasure what He says about wisdom.
But I wonder what life would’ve been like for Solomon, the people of Israel and the people of Judah if he hadn’t asked for an understanding heart. What would life be like for us, not having the life-changing, wisdom-filled book of Proverbs? I’m glad that we don’t have to find out but instead we can search the scriptures and allow them to guide us into wise living. May Solomon inspire us to live humbly and ignite us to examine the motives of our prayers and requests to God. Perhaps more than the things or circumstances, we should ask God to prepare us to be woman who walk worthy of our desires. We should ask Him to do an inner work in our hearts so that we would not mismanage the blessings of God. Would we still love, trust, and follow God even if He never granted our desires? Possibly we should start there. Asking for more of Him, His ways and His guidance, first.
Matthew 6:33 reminds us that as we seek the Kingdom of God first, all other things would be added. That is a promise from God to us. Consequently, Solomon too. Scripture reveals that because the king sought the well-being of God’s Kingdom above asking for that which fades; God still granted him riches, fame and life-long honor (1Kings 3:11-13)!
Sis, He is the God Who does exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20)! He is faithful even when we are not so faithful. Just as He was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom, so He will be pleased when we ask for that which helps us grow spiritually. He delights in our heart posture more than a religious duty. We can make it our life-long prayer for God to continually work in us, refine us and purify our hearts. And likewise we can ask for the wisdom, guidance and strategy that would help us attain that which we desire. Because what good is it to have a good thing without the wisdom to steward it well? What good is it to have all the things of this world without true friendship with the Lord?
Spoiler alert! This was the cause of the wisest man’s fall. It saddens me because he started so well. But it is also a constant reminder that even in our wisdom and strengths, we still greatly need the counsel of the Holy Spirit on our good days as much as we do our difficult ones. Solomon’s reign started wonderfully but it ended tragically. As his many wives turned his heart away from God, he fell into idolatry and became enriched in his own heart’s desires, causing him to lose his kingdom (1Kings 11).
We however, can learn from the life of Solomon; both his rise and his fall. Let’s take inventory of the our heart’s desires and ask God to put them in their rightful place, as He takes priority in our lives. May we determine to align our desires with His and trust Him. As we wait for our longings to come to pass, may we be found at His feet, remaining humble and teachable. And finally, let’s never stop asking God for that which is a treasure that makes one great and brings honor(Proverbs 4:8). The very virtue that God said He’d give us generously, if we’d ask for it(James 1:5). That which God considers ultimately valuable; so valuable it helps us to know and understand the things of God (Proverbs 2:5). That is: Wisdom.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, we just give You praise and thanks for Who You are. You are so faithful. So Intentional, Lord. We recall how we’ve seen You move in the lives of others and even our own lives. As we remember, faith and gratitude floods our hearts. Lord God, forgive us for the times we’ve come before You with a spirit of entitlement or selfish motives. Today God, we ask for a fresh outpour of wisdom that would enable us to prosper and live in alignment with You. Holy Spirit lead us and guide us. Let Your Word be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Give us a fresh hunger for Your Word and for Your ways. Above the things, may we desire You, God. We invite You to invade our lives and we ask that Your glory would be displayed. We confess that we have no clue what today holds and we need Your help in every area of our lives. Prosper the works of our hand in every sphere of our lives. Prepare us to be women who steward Your blessings well. Keep us humble and teachable, no matter how much You advance us. Flood our hearts with understanding, wisdom, knowledge and love. We love Your ways, O God. In Jesus’s Matchless name, amen.
