"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days."
1 Kings 3:5-14
This is a great story, and I love that Solomon prayed for an understanding heart to be able to help people, and to make sure that he was doing good. This also reminds me of James 1:5, the verse that inspired Joseph Smith to pray about what church to join: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
The Lord likes it when we are humble and ask for the discernment that we lack, and for the ability to make better decisions and help others, rather than praying selfishly for riches or fame or triumph over our foes.
Today, let's learn from Solomon how to humbly ask for what we truly need rather than praying through a gift list. :) Let's think about our lives and about the things that are getting in the way of our worship or our service to others, and let's pray for those things rather than others.
God largely gives us what we ask for, provided we don't ask for things that are going to make the world or our lives worse, or things that might be against his will for a larger reason... so if God is willing to give us things that go along with his will, let's really think about what things we need that coincide with God's will. That, along with being more midful and grateful for what we have, might get us thinking along the right track to things that will make us holier, and better able to serve God and other people.
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