Saturday 5 Feb 2022

February 5: 1 Kings 3:4-13

Key Verse: 1 Kings 3:10
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

Devotion:
When you pray for help or pray for something you need, what is the motive behind your prayers? We often hear the verses which remind us how God will always answer our prayers – but if we are going to be selfish or greedy with our prayers, should we really expect God to answer them!

When I was in hospital (OK, I won’t mention it for a while again) I did pray for many things, but my health was always secondary to my prayers. I knew God was looking out for me and I did ask for healing and comfort, but it was always after praying for someone else or for something else for someone else. My thoughts were something along the lines of, I know God is watching over me because the doctors though I was not going to make it several times, so why should I harp on about it!

Solomon was given everything on a plate. His father, David, had done so much for Israel and had built up everything anyone could want for so Solomon did not have to ask for anything worldly. Instead, He asked God to give him the wisdom he needed to effectively and faithfully rule over God’s people!

When God heard what Solomon was asking for, He gave him the wisdom he needed as well as great wealth and honour – things he had not asked for! God does actually know what is best for us; and God knew that for Solomon to be an effective ruler of Israel, he would need the wealth and power which came with being a great king (or at least that is how the people would see it) Trust in God for your answers to prayers for what you need, not what you want!

Points to Ponder:
Do you pray for what you need or what you want?

Will you lift up others in prayer first?