Ask! What Shall I Give You?

Ask! What Shall I Give You?

—1 Kings 3:5

Solomon was about to be crowned king. This was no easy assignment for a young man not yet twenty years of age. Furthermore, he was following in the footsteps of his father, King David, one of the greatest leaders and motivators of men in human history. At this time of his life, Solomon was pure and virtually void of pride. He journeyed to Gibeon to worship and humbly seek God’s help and direction. There God met him and asked the new king, “Ask! What shall I give you?” which is to say, “What do you want from Me?”

What do you want? Everyone wants something. Some want extra financial resources to pay off mounting debt. Others want a husband or a wife. Still others are in search of meaningful work and a clear purpose in life. Understandably, the Lord’s question caused Solomon to stop and consider his priorities.

Everyone wants something. What you want may not be what you need, but what you want can be a very good indication of where your heart is. Incidentally, there is a greater tragedy than not getting what you want. It is wanting something, getting it, and then realizing it is not what you wanted after all! We can all tell stories of people we know whose lives were ruined because they got what (or who) they wanted, only to find out it was not what they really needed to fill their longing.

So what do you want? Solomon had the right answer. His priorities were in order. He didn’t have to think long and hard about his answer. Right away he replied, “Give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9). Solomon wanted three things: He wanted God to work with him, not with others. He wanted God to work in him, not around him. And he wanted God to work through him, not for him.

ASK GOD TO WORK with YOU

Solomon first requested that God work with him, not just with everyone else (1 Kings 3:4–9). Solomon knew that what he needed was to first deal with his own shortcomings and weaknesses, not someone else’s.

I remember a frustrated husband once saying to me, “If my wife would just line up with Ephesians 5 and be more submissive to my leadership in the home, things would be better.” I let him know the best chance of this happening was if he began to do what it also says in Ephesians 5 and love his wife “as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (v. 25).

For many of us, the problems we face are always someone else’s fault. Wives blame their husbands, kids blame their parents, we blame God, we even blame the dog. Had the old spiritual already been written, Solomon would have been singing, “It’s not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”*

What do you want? Solomon said, “Lord, I want to be right with You. I want You to work with me first.”

ASK GOD TO WORK in YOU

Solomon knew that what he needed most was internal, not external. He asked God to give him “an understanding heart” (1 Kings 3:9). Too often we try to change our world with external forces. We have become pretty adept at protests, petitions, picketing, and politicking. Somehow we think if we scream a bit louder and beat our Bibles a little harder, we can effect change, when what each one of us really needs is an internal change, a change of heart.

Solomon said, “God, I need something inside me that I do not have: I need wisdom.” Solomon had the greatest education money could buy, but he recognized the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts; wisdom is the ability to use those facts to make good decisions.

Don’t we all need “an understanding heart”? Again, Solomon could have asked for anything, but he knew that what he needed most was for God to work in him. One of the dangers of all the Christian literature and devotional helps today is that some only hear what God has said to someone else. Solomon said, “Lord I know You have spoken to David, but above all I want an ‘understanding heart’ myself.” After all, if we have a heart that can hear from God, what else would we ever need to live life well?

ASK GOD TO WORK Through YOU

Too often we want God to work for us, to bless us, instead of asking God to work through us to be a blessing to others. Solomon asked God to work through him.

God is asking you right now, “What do you want?” Are most of your requests of Him designed primarily to bless others or to benefit you? Solomon chose the best, and God went above and beyond. The Lord said, “I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart. . . . And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days” (1 Kings 3:12–13).

Unfortunately, there is a sad postscript. Often what weakens our focus on God is the very blessing He gives us. When your blessings become your god, you stop hearing from God. Solomon was blessed with great power and God-given wisdom, yet his focus began to change. That change came ever so slowly at first, but when he was an old man, he was the bitter author of the book of Ecclesiastes. There he wrote about the folly of learning, laughter, liquor, lust, luxury, and everything else that seems so important in life. And Solomon’s ultimate and sober conclusion is this: “Vanity of vanities . . . all is vanity” (12:8). In the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, we hear from an old man whose heart can no longer hear from God. Listen to the hard-won wisdom of Solomon’s words: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. . . . Hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (12:1, 13).

What do you want? The good news is when you choose the best, God will more than bless.

Q & A: “Ask! What shall I give you?” Remember that what you want may not be what you need. Make sure you want God to work with you and not just with others. Ask Him to work in you and not outside you. And may your request be for Him to work through you, not for you. What do YOU really want?

“Standing in the Need of Prayer,” author unknown.