Seeds for 07/18/2024 - Ask - 1 Kings 3:5-9
In this series on prayer and scripture, we are following the acronym P.R.A.Y. as a guide for prayer. We are considering scriptures throughout the Bible on each theme. My prayer is that studying scriptures on these themes will give us biblical words to use as our own and simple insights for our praying.
Scripture:
5 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.”
6 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.
7 “Now, 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. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 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?”
Observation:
The next movement in the four-fold framework communicated in the acronym P.R.A.Y. is Ask. This is what we often this of first when we think of prayer—asking for what we want or believe we need. Yet it’s also something that we struggle with. Still, God wants us to ask. Our text today is about asking.
First, God is generous in His invitation. He approaches Solomon in the dream and invites him to ask. It isn’t Solomon’s idea or initiative to ask God for what he wants—it’s God’s idea and initiative. Plus, God is wide-open with Solomon: “Ask for whatever you want me to give to you.” Would God have given Solomon absolutely anything? I don’t think God would have given him something sinful, of course. But God invited him to bear his heart and lay it all before Him. He invites us too.
Second, God’s invitation leads Solomon to self-reflection: “You have made your servant king… but I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.” Sometimes what we think we need at first has not been passed through a filter of assessing our current life situation. It’s good to pause and give mature thought to what we need to ask God for. God’s invitation can prompt us to consider our situation.
Third, Solomon asked based on what he needed to meet the responsibilities God had given him as king of Israel. Solomon had the honor and privilege of royalty, but also the responsibility of leadership. This is an example of asking God to make us the kind of person who is equipped for the challenges we will face.
Solomon asked for wisdom—“a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” Sometimes we learn about the process and principles of prayer from figures in the Bible. In this instance, Solomon’s petition can become our own because we all need godly wisdom for the responsibilities in our lives.
Application:
For what responsibilities in this season of your life to you need to ask for wisdom?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me a discerning heart to attend to the responsibilities you have given me in this season of life. May I steward my position and opportunities well. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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