“Since you have asked for this and not for…I will do what you have asked.” 1 Kings 3:11a,12a
Whenever we come to God with our petitions and requests, it is not a time for Him to honour everything that we ask for.
God is not a genie in a bottle rub-a-dub-dub. His heart is in raising children who would love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. When we do so, we place ourselves in a position to be transformed from glory to glory and reflect His nature.
The interesting part of this dialogue that took place between Solomon and God was that God initiated it and even placed the request within Solomon’s reach for Solomon to ask anything from God. Now, aside from the Disney version movie that we have watched on Aladdin and the Genie, this particular exchange was only one-off; Solomon did not have 3 wishes, he was only given one petition. He could not undo what he asked for, and would have to live with its downstream effects years down the road.
In the place of petitioning God, we need to realise the importance of what we are asking for. Brought up in the ways of God by his father David, Solomon started out well and aligned himself to what God had for him at the beginning of his kingship. He understood the vulnerabilities, uncertainties, ambiguities and complexities that he had to face as a king.
That was why he did not ask for the life of his enemies because it would be a temporary solution to one problem out of the many. That was why he did not ask for long life because suffering through one would be terrible. That was why he did not ask for riches because they were but material possessions.
Instead, he understood the position that he was placed in. He was dealt with a deck of cards and had to play his hand well. Pandering to short term solutions was not the way to go. It dawned on him that One who had the answers to everything would grant him that very thing that would guide his decision-making.
How are you approaching your requests to God?