What Would You Ask For?
If you were given the opportunity to ask for whatever you wanted and be granted what you asked, what would you ask for?
Would you ask for diamonds and rubies? Gold, silver, or fancy jewellery? Would you want to live in a warm and exotic location? Perhaps, you might want a new car; a prestigious job; a large and beautiful home with a cozy summer cottage near the lake. Do you think you might ask simply for more money?
Maybe you would ask for something like peace throughout the world; food for the starving - homes for the homeless. Might you ask for a sick relative to get better or a grieving friend to feel happy? Maybe you would like the discovery of a cure for cancer, along with every other disease that we currently can’t cure.
There are an infinite number of things that one could ask for. But what thing would help people the most? What could you ask for that would help others and yourself? What could help you spiritually?
“What would you ask for?” In 1 Kings 3:4-14, King Solomon was asked this very question by God. The Lord asked Solomon “Ask! What shall I give you?” Solomon’s answer to this question was a humble and pleasant one: an understanding heart!
Solomon knew that he didn’t know everything, so he wanted to be wiser. He wanted to be able to know what was right and what was wrong - to be able to judge the people properly and fairly.
This answer pleased God, and Solomon was granted what he had asked for and much more. This wisdom not only helped Solomon, but helped others as well. Later on in the same chapter, two women were fighting over the possession of a child - both claiming that the boy was their own. Solomon was about to have the young boy cut in two to give a half to each woman, but the real mother offered the boy to the other woman so that no harm would come to her son. This showed Solomon who the true mother was and showed Israel how wise the king was.
Wisdom would be a grand thing to ask for and receive. Being able to know what is right and what is wrong would indeed be a blessing. Of course, we too are offered this blessing! We have God’s word, the Bible, and by studying it we can become wiser. Wisdom is offered! Will you ask for it, and grasp for it?
-- John Thrower Jr.