Give…Thy Servant an Understanding Heart

1 Kings 3:5-9, “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?”

This is the passage of Scripture where Solomon becomes King. The Lord appears to him in a dream and says He will give him anything that he asks for. Solomon could have asked for riches, fame, long life, possessions, etc., but he didn’t. He asked for an understanding heart. Why did he ask for that out of all things? I believe it’s because he had his priorities straight. Now, his priorities were not always right, but I believe in this moment they were.

He realized at this time that his purpose in life was to lead the people of God, and he realized that he could not do it without the help of the Lord. He could have asked for anything for himself to make him richer, but he didn’t. He asked for something that he could use to help others.

How are our priorities in our life? Are we too concerned with what we can get out of life for ourselves or are we focused on what we can do to help others? What a joy it is to be able to help others. I don’t know if a greater joy than being to able to lead someone to Christ. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the things of life that we miss opportunities to help others. We get in such a hurry to go where we’re going that we miss a chance to hand someone a Gospel tract. A man came to our church last Sunday because someone gave him an invitation at a gas station that week. He ended up getting saved and came back on Wednesday! I’m glad that someone had their priorities straight when they took a moment out of their busy lives to hand that man a Gospel tract. How are your priorities today? Are they focused on the things of God and helping others are are they all about you? Remember, the way to finding true joy is to put…

Jesus first,

Others second, and

Yourself last