One Sunday morning, I got to church with a heavy mind filled with prayer requests. It was time for the sermon of the day to be preached and the sermon was drawn from 1 kings 3:5-15. OH, obviously it was a narrative I had always read. How God appeared to Solomon and asked for His request and Solomon requested for wisdom. But was that all about the narrative? Sure not!
The pastor went on to introduce the sermon and said his theme was “GENUINE REQUEST”. Genuine simply means very honest. What struck me in the sermon was that it was God Himself who asked Solomon to give his request. WHY? Because obviously Solomon worked in the ways of the Lord. I started thinking how amazing this was. While others spend days and nights praying with many request, God visits others (who are His faithful servants) and ask for their request. REALLY AMAZING.
Away from the sermon, I started reflecting on Solomon’s Genuine request and I was humbled by this request.
Solomon’s request:
1 kings 3 Vs 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?”
- The first thing I noticed which is unique about this request is that it is a SELF-SACRIFICING Solomon asked for a discerning heart so that he could govern the people well. Yes he asked for a discerning heart for himself but his motive of having the heart was to govern the people.
Introspective Question: What is the motive of our Request from God? Is it always for self-gratification? Or is it for what will not only benefit you but also benefit others and above all for God’s glory?
- It was made in all HUMILITY. Solomon said give your “SERVANT”. This was a king who saw himself as a humble servant of God.
Introspective Question: How do you present your request to God? Is it humbly or filled with pride? For instance when God blesses you with wonderful positions in society, can we still remain His humble servants?
- It is a SINCERE REQUEST. The request shows that what Solomon said is what He really meant. Imagine your mother is very rich and ask you to name just one thing you request from her. Obviously you will name the most important thing you want from her which is your sincere request. Meaning Solomon asked what he really needed from God.
Introspective question: Have you ever given God our sincere Request? If so, is this request only for our self-gratification or is it for the benefit of others too and for God’s Glory?
Consider the Narrative of the Prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Apparently his sincere request was a share of his fathers’ wealth with the motive of spending it extravagantly. What was the end result? He became so low that he ate the food meant for pigs. But look at Solomon’s sincere request “a discerning heart to govern the people”. What was the result? God was pleased and granted Solomon’s request and even gave him riches and honor he did not ask for (1 kings 3:10-15). From this I learn that, surely, a SINCERE REQUEST made in humility with the right motives pleases God.
Vanessa.