1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
“What do you want from God?
What do you want from God? If you were asked that question, as King Solomon was, what would be your answer?
It reminds me a little of those stories of genies popping out of old lamps and offering three wishes to the person who rubbed the lamp and released them. In gratitude for being freed from the tiny prison of living inside an old-fashioned lamp, the genie exclaims, “Your wish is my command!” and promptly offers to fulfill three wishes for you.
What would you wish for? Better health? Longer life? A happy family? A more fulfilling job? A new car?
Most of the genies, including the one in the famous Alladin story, have a few rules around the wishes. Things like, you can’t wish for someone to come back to life or for someone to die either. You can’t wish to become immortal or change the fundamental nature of reality. And you can’t wish for unlimited wishes.
But that still leaves quite a lot of scope for wishes to be used for good or evil, to make things better in the world or to fulfill our most selfish desires.
What would you wish for if you encountered a genie offering to fulfill your greatest hopes and dreams? Or what do you wish for when it’s your birthday and you blow out the candles on your cake? Or what do you pray for when you lay your head down at the end of the day and think about your place in the world, your future, and your hopes?
Of course, we know that God is not a genie who grants wishes when we pray earnestly, faithfully, humbly, or passionately. Prayer is not comparable to placing an online order for things we need or want, with a guaranteed delivery of those items within 3-5 business days.
I don’t know what King Solomon was expecting when he went up to Gibeon to pray and worship God. He worshipped in the way that his ancestors had done, making sacrifices on the altar and offering incense as he prayed. Perhaps he expected that the honour and worship he showed towards God would please the deity. Perhaps it was a transactional kind of relationship – Solomon offered worship and God might offer favours in return.
But rather than simply responding with a variety of blessings for the pious king who took the time to worship, God got into Solomon’s head. As he slept that night, God spoke to him in a dream, asking Solomon “What should I give you?” What do you want me to do for you?
And that’s when Solomon had to think about it. What do I really want from God?
Thinking out loud, Solomon began by acknowledging everything that God had already done for him. He thanked God for showing great and steadfast love for Solomon’s father, King David.
Since we’ve been reading about David over the last few weeks, we know that God’s faithfulness was very generous. Although Solomon notes that his father “walked before God in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart,” we also know that David made mistakes, did selfish and wrong things, and needed to be corrected, re-directed, and forgiven.
God was indeed, very good to King David. And the most recent blessing was that God gave David a son to follow after him, to sit on his throne, follow in his footsteps, and lead God’s people in the next generation.
Solomon is grateful for all of this. But what does he need from God now?
The usual requests that God is probably used to hearing in the prayers of kings and rulers include appeals for long life, riches, and victory over enemies. Perhaps those are comparable to our standard prayers for good health, for successful careers, and for our favourite political party or leader to win power.
And we all pray for those sorts of things, don’t we? With a provincial election coming up this Fall, most of us are probably praying for the result that we believe will be better for us or for our neighbours. It’s only natural to do so.
And as we observe the political events going on in the U.S. in these days, how many of us are praying for the success of the Harris-Walz ticket, or at least praying earnestly that our neighbours to the South won’t elect Donald Trump again?
Nick and I went to check in with our financial advisor last week, and yes, we want to make sure we have enough money to retire some day. If finances are a concern or a worry for someone, I totally understand that they might pray for a raise at work, for an upturn in the markets so that their savings grow, or even for a winning lottery ticket. Maybe you’ve prayed something like that yourself at some point.
And of course we pray for good health – for ourselves, for our families, for our church friends and others we know who are dealing with medical challenges. We pray for good care, for effective treatments, and even for the miraculous resolution of symptoms and underlying problems. Of course we do, because we ask God for what we truly long for and hope for from the bottom of our hearts.
Next month I’m going to turn 50. Can you believe it? And when women in this province turn 50, that’s when we qualify for breast cancer screening. (At least for now, though I understand the age is actually going to be lowered next year to 40.) So, I’m scheduled for my first mammogram in a few weeks, and of course I’m going to pray about it.
I’ll probably find myself praying that I don’t have breast cancer, which is kind of silly when you think about it. I either do have breast cancer or I don’t. It’s an objective reality that won’t be changed by prayer.
I mean, imagine if you were to fall and break your ankle. You wouldn’t pray that your ankle not be broken. The fact is that it is broken. So you might pray for strength to endure the pain, for good care to assist the healing process, or for creative ideas to help you figure out how to keep doing the things you need to do in spite of your injury.
I’ll need prayers along those lines if I do get a devastating test result, that is for sure.
King Solomon becomes known as the wise king in the history of God’s people, Israel. And perhaps that’s because he asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him.
After thinking carefully about what to pray, what to ask for from God, Solomon requested the gift of an understanding mind to govern God’s people, and the ability to discern between good and evil. He recognized that he had been given a great responsibility and a difficult role to fulfill as the King of Israel and Judah. He felt young and inexperienced, and he worried about whether he would be able to do it well.
Even before God granted the gift of wisdom and discernment to Solomon, I think that he was already pretty wise. He was wise enough to ask for something that would help both him, his people, and even the neighbouring kingdoms as Solomon employed his gift of wisdom in all his relationships and responsibilities.
Thinking about Solomon’s prayer request, I wonder what prayers you are inspired to make in the context of your circumstances, responsibilities, and hopes for the future.
If you are a parent, you might be tempted to pray for your kids to have perfect health, to rise to the top of their classes at school, and to resist all temptations to try out drugs and other dangerous pursuits. But perhaps you simply need to pray for wisdom and discernment as you walk with them, and guide them, and do your best to love them unconditionally, whatever challenges or difficulties they may face.
If you have significant responsibilities in your work or in a volunteer role, you might be inclined to pray for success, for promotions, or for acknowledgement of your skills and accomplishments. But perhaps you simply need to pray for wisdom and discernment as you manage your busy schedule, and as you interact with colleagues or supervise employees. As you use your gifts to serve a good purpose, maybe you simply need to pray for wisdom so that you can do the best you can, know your limits, and make a difference through your efforts.
If you are struggling with relationships, or worrying about finances, or suffering from illness, or enduring grief, you might want to pray for God to just fix the problem for you, wipe it away. Remove the worry, the fear, or the pain from your life as soon as possible. But perhaps you simply need to pray for wisdom and discernment to keep things in perspective, to trust God through difficulties, and to see the blessings and the light that God is shining into your life even in the midst of your current struggles.
Today I’m thinking about Gabe Omolida who is playing piano for his last service at First Church, at least for a while. Many of you have probably already heard that Gabe is moving to Edmonton to begin a Masters degree in Music. As his church family, we will be sad to say goodbye, but also happy and proud that he is taking this next step in his musical career.
So, what will we pray for Gabe as he begins this new stage of his life? We could pray that he’ll become an amazing church musician in one of the biggest and most creative congregations in the country. We could pray that he will win prestigious competitions and earn great recording contracts. We could pray that he will become a world-famous concert pianist.
But following the lead of the wise King Solomon, I want to begin by giving thanks for all the ways that God has already blessed Gabe – for his musical talent, for his discipline and determination, for his supportive family, and for all that he has shared with our congregation over the years.
And like Solomon, I want to pray that Gabe will be filled with wisdom and discernment in all his endeavours – as he studies, as he practices, as he develops his career, as he uses his musical gifts to glorify God and bring blessing to others.
Friends, I trust that you will pray these and similar prayers for Gabe as he begins his adventure in Edmonton. And let’s continue to lift up our prayers to God for wisdom and discernment in each of our lives and circumstances, for our families, for our congregation, for our denomination, and for the communities, province, country, and world in which we live. Because Solomon was right, what we need most of all, in every sphere of life, is the gift of wisdom from God.
Let us remember God’s generous response and gift to Solomon, and trust that God will bless us with wisdom as well, as we gather around God’s Word, as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and as we open our hearts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit each and every day.