Pray:

Lord, give me a heart that desires those things that are in line with what Your heart desires.

Read:

1 Kings 3:1-15

Reflect:

What would you ask the Lord if invited to ask anything?

The Lord appears to Solomon in a dream and invites him to ask him for something (5). Solomon says, "I am only a little child..." (7), but his prayer for wisdom reveals him to be much wiser than that! Thus, to his natural wisdom, the Lord adds supernatural wisdom in abundance.

Indeed the Lord goes beyond what Solomon asks, for he also promises him riches and honor, which again he gives him in abundance (13).

Solomon responds as he should. He stands before the Ark in Jerusalem, worships the Lord and celebrates with his servants (15).

So far so good, but all is not quite right. Solomon's marriage to the Egyptian princess (1) breaks commands not to intermarry with "foreigners" (Deut. 7:3,4) and threatens to pull Israel too close to the old enemy, Egypt (Deut. 17:16). So, too, Solomon's habit of sacrificing at "high places" (3) runs counter to the idea of worshiping in one place alone (Deut. 12). There is much here that is good but sadly, not everything.

Apply:

Pray for God's gift of wisdom, that you may follow him faithfully and without distraction.

Pray:

God of grace, thank You that You answer prayer and You do "exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or imagine."