By Jack Wyman

He could have had anything.

All he had to do was ask. It would be his.

Few people have ever had such an opportunity. No conditions. No expectations. No restraints.

“What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

It was a breath-taking generosity.

This was no genie in a lamp who extended this amazing invitation. This was the Almighty God of the universe. Creator of all. He came to King Solomon in a dream one night.

What would you ask God for? If you could ask him for anything? And you knew he would grant it?

Solomon asked God for just one thing. Wisdom.

The new king of Israel acknowledged God’s grace and lovingkindness—in honoring his father, David, and in placing Solomon on the throne as David’s successor. Yet in this divine blessing and honor, given to so few, Solomon humbly felt and confessed his own inadequacy.

Unlike young Simba in The Lion King, this new ruler was not so confident. There was not a hint of narcissism or self-indulgence or roaring about his power or position. Instead, there was the overwhelming sense of human frailty.

“I am but a little child,” Solomon told God. “I know not how to go out or come in” (I Kings 3:7). I don’t know the ropes of this job. I’ve never been a king before. I hardly know the ins and outs. And here I am, in the midst of your own chosen people, so great beyond number they cannot be counted.

Here is a leader obsessed not with his success but his need; not boasting of his triumph but aware of his weakness; not prideful of his talents but questioning his abilities; not measuring his palace but wondering if he could measure up to the job before him.

“Give me an understanding heart,” the young king asked God, “so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong” (I Kings 3:9). Wisdom, guidance, integrity. That’s what Solomon asked God for.

“So that I may be able to discern between good and bad.” Knowing the right thing must always precede doing the right thing. Knowing was infinitely harder, even for a righteous and sincere man. “I can’t do this alone. I need you, Lord.”

Here was a maturity and insight beyond Solomon’s years. God took note and he was impressed.

“Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life, or wealth, or victory over your enemies—I will grant your request. I will give you what you have asked for” (I Kings 3:10).

God gave Solomon the greatest wisdom—the greatest understanding heart—that anyone had ever had. Before or since. God did more. He gave Solomon what he didn’t ask for. He gave him abundant wealth and great fame. He would reign as the greatest king of his time. God told him that if he obeyed God and honored his decrees, he would also live a long and abundant life.  

Solomon was blessed by God because he recognized what he needed—and what he needed was what he wanted. He accepted God’s gracious invitation and trusted God enough to make his request known.

If a mighty king could humble himself to ask God for wisdom above all else, do you and I dare to do anything less? Do you and I not need wisdom—and discernment, sound judgment, integrity, and courage—for such as time as this? Do we not need to understand the difference between right and wrong, between good and bad, in these difficult days?

We’re not kings and queens. Most of us will not lead others. But we still need wisdom. We need it to live godly lives in ungodly times. We need it that we may be a positive influence on those we love most—our families. We need wisdom that we may know what to do and how to do it; what to say and how to say it.

James tells us that if we lack wisdom we may ask God for it, and He will give it. (James 1:5) God hasn’t changed one bit since He answered Solomon’s prayer. He will do no less for each of us. We live engulfed in a rising tide of violence, division and debauchery beyond the most vivid imagination.

We live in a world of inverted values, where right is wrong and wrong is right.

We live in a world where parents take their children to a gay bar in Dallas to witness half-naked transvestites performing explicit dances. Drag the Kids to Pride, the show exhorts.

We live in a crumbling culture that would make Sodom blush. God deliver us from this child sacrifice.

We seek amiss if we embrace whatever we read and see on the internet or Facebook. We will be misled if we place our trust in dark conspiracies peddled by disreputable sources. We will be disappointed, disillusioned and disarmed if we go astray to follow strange fire and listen to strange voices.

James does not direct us to cable news for wisdom. He does not tell us to believe all the rumors and reports. He instead points us directly to God for the wisdom that only God can give. The discernment possessed by the people of Issachar, who had an understanding of their times, and knew what Israel should do (I Chronicles 12:32).

Let us ask in faith. When we seek wisdom, let us trust in God alone to grant it. And let us trust God alone to protect us, guide us, keep us, and love us. Let’s humble ourselves, as did that ancient king so long ago; let us bow before the throne of our sovereign God who has ordered and controls these challenging times.

Let us accept God’s invitation to come to him and find grace and comfort in our hour of need.

He alone is the source of all wisdom.

To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.

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