Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “ Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now, 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 spirit of wisdom to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked him for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies but for wisdom in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
– 1 Kings 3:5-14
Devotion
God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom instead of wealth and long life. Early in his reign, Solomon walked closely with God and God accomplished great things through Solomon. Unfortunately, during the latter part of his reign, Solomon would not walk closely with God and the nation would pay the ultimate price for his sin and rebellion.
The Big Question
Often in life, we start out with good intentions and a desire to honor and serve God only to discover that following God is not always easy. Can you think of a time when you had a strong resolve to follow God and it didn’t work out the way you thought it would? If so, why do you think it didn’t work out the way you thought it would? If God were to promise to grant you one request, what would you ask for? What we ask for reveals what’s really going on at the deepest level in our hearts!
Conclude your time in prayer and silence reflecting on what you have learned.