King Solomon Asked for Understand
If God appeared to you and said, “Ask for whatever you want.”
What would you ask for?
In 1 Kings 3:5-10, this is exactly what happened to Solomon. Verse 5 says, “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give thee.’”
This is one of those amazing stories in the Bible. God appears to one of his servants and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”
We all have needs and in a moment like this, it would be so easy to think only of what we need in the moment, a job, enough money to pay the bills, improved relationships at work or at home. The list could be as long as those answering the question. But Solomon had the weight of leadership on his shoulders. He knew God’s people would be depending on him to make the absolute best decisions.
Perhaps like many in a new job or faced with a new task, he felt inadequate. In verse 7, he says, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” In other words, “I really don’t feel up to the task.”
Perhaps God has placed you in a circumstance in which you feel inadequate, perhaps you don’t feel up to it. Maybe the challenge is overwhelming.
James 1:5 (KJV) encourages us with these words, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally…and it shall be given.” I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I have prayed based on James 1:5.
Solomon asked for “an understanding heart,” (1 Kings 3:9 KJV), the NIV translates his request as “a discerning heart.” In the same verse Solomon clarifies why he is asking for “understanding.” He explains, “that I may discern between good and bad,” (KJV), or as the NLT puts it, that he might, “know the difference between right and wrong.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
The wisest person in the history of the world asked to be able to distinguish between right and wrong.
So many in our culture and in our church claim confidently and dogmatically to know what is right and what is wrong, and these same people waste no time telling everyone else. But Solomon wasn’t so sure.
If it was not easy for the wisest among us to know the difference between right and wrong, can we be so absolutely sure ourselves?
We need the activity of the Holy Spirit, working within our conscience to discern what is and what is not appropriate. Our own desires can so often cloud our judgement. We rationalize about what we want, we make excuses rather than relying on God.
Are you struggling to know right from wrong today?
If you are then perhaps like Solomon, you will ask for “an understanding heart.”
God will answer your prayer and you will have the discernment you seek.
Much love and many blessings,
David Dellman
