2026 Pentecost Devotions I
Monday, July 20
1 Kings 3:5-12
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you, and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this great people of yours?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or for the life of your enemies but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you.”
“… 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this …”
In the classic movie, “A Miracle on 42nd Street”, the character playing Kris Kringle asks Susan, the skeptical and precocious girl, what she wants for Christmas. After some initial reluctance, she shows Kringle the photograph of a house. Demurring, he mentions that sometimes children ask for things that they could not possibly use like a locomotive or a B-29 bomber.
“I thought so,” the little girl retorts. “You’re just a kind old man with a beard.”
I’ve often wondered what would have happened in the story about Solomon if he’d asked for riches or the death of his enemies. Would God have been so generous? Would God have granted his request?
Jesus says to ask for whatever you want and he will grant it. Like Kris Kringle in the movie, we all know there are probably qualifications. However, like Susan, we have to come to believe that God will grant those things that offer fulfillment, joy, peace, and hope even when our request is for those things that we could never possibly use.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers. Grant, O Lord, in Your goodness, those things for which we cannot nor dare not ask, except for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.