“So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this great people of Yours?” 
—1 Kings 3:9, NASB

Reflection 

Not long after David’s son Solomon was anointed as king, he went to Gibeon to make sacrifices to God, and an amazing thing happened. While he was there, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Ask what you wish Me to give you. 

Can you imagine hearing God say something like that to you? No limitations. Ask anything you want. Many people would seek money or success, love or long life, and those requests have their place. But those things were not at the top of Solomon’s list. 

Solomon began by remembering the great lovingkindness God had shown to David his father. He recognized that David had walked before the Lord in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart, and that God had reserved for him this great lovingkindness by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Then Solomon looked honestly at himself before God and said that although the Lord had made him king, he was but a little child. He did not know how to go out or come in. 

There is something deeply beautiful in this prayer. Solomon did not pretend to be sufficient. He did not hide his weakness behind his position. He understood that he was standing in the midst of God’s chosen people, a great people who were too many to be numbered or counted. So he asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people, to discern between good and evil. 

What an incredible lesson we can learn from Solomon through this prayer. Above all else Solomon asked for wisdom. This is what the Book of Proverbs admonishes us over and over to seek. Proverbs tells us to acquire wisdom, and with all our acquiring, get understanding. Wisdom, however, is not simply a series of correct values we must understand. Proverbs speaks of wisdom as a person, and that person is Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God. 

This is what Solomon sought in his prayer: a dynamic insight and understanding of reality from God’s perspective so he could rule correctly. Israel’s young king did not ask first for superficial things. He did not first ask for riches or honor. He did not begin by asking for protection from his enemies. Those things sometimes have their place, but Solomon sought something deeper. He asked for something more important to the heart of God, something that would allow him to lead others in the right way. He asked for wisdom, which is the very person of Jesus. 

This pleased God so much that He gave Solomon even more than he asked for. Because Solomon asked for discernment to understand justice and did not ask for long life, riches, or the life of his enemies, God gave him a wise and discerning heart. He also gave him what he had not asked, both riches and honor. 

This is why it is so important to ask God for the things that really matter to Him. Some prayers carry more weight with God than others. Some requests please the Father more than others. Our prayers can move God’s heart. What we seek will determine how He responds to us and how much pleasure He gets from our communication with Him. 

Application 

• Ask the Father for an understanding heart, not merely for outward success, but for wisdom to discern good and evil from His perspective. 

• Let your prayers show what truly matters to God: humility, wisdom, right values, and the desire to lead others in the right way. 

Prayer 

Father, give me an understanding heart. I do not want to seek only superficial things, riches, honor, protection, or success, while missing what matters most to You. Teach me to ask for wisdom, for dynamic insight and understanding from Your perspective. Yeshua, You have become to us wisdom from God, so draw me deeper into Yourself. Let my prayers move Your heart and bring You pleasure. Amen.