What Do You Want?

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

⁸ Solomon replied to God, “You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! ¹⁰ Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people— ¹² I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”
2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Did you ever have to write a list of things you wanted for Christmas or for your birthday?  I did.  Yes, I realize today's passage is a little longer than most, but there's a reason for that.

1. Solomon, son of King David, had just become King over Israel.
2. Solomon had gone to the temple and made 1000 offerings to God.
3. God came to Solomon and said, "What do you want?  Ask, and I will give it to you."
4. Solomon could have asked for ANYTHING, but he chose wisdom and knowledge to lead the people properly.

I can't say I would have asked for that.  Just think if God came to you and said, "Whatever you want, just ask and I'll give it to you!"  I know there are some who would believe they would be righteous enough to ask for something like world peace, or end of hunger and poverty, or something unselfishly helpful, and I applaud those who would ask for such gifts.  

 

I will be honest, my FIRST instinct would be to ask for something for me.  Why?  Because, I'm not afraid to admit that I struggle with being selfish at times.  My bride and I watch quite a bit of HGTV and ask each other how on earth these 20-somethings can afford a $1.5M house.  Or how are the rude drunken louts able to afford the $200,000 fee for a 2-day cruise on a luxury yacht.  Then there are those who have hurt me or treated me unfairly.  

 

So, yeah, my list would have been a lot different than asking God for Wisdom and Knowledge to do a good job.  But because Solomon made that choice, God gave him wealth, riches, and fame such as no king has had before or since.  WOW!  

 

My prayer for a long time now has been simple: "Father, use me and keep me out of your way."