Wise Guy!

In my quest to read the Old Testament from beginning to end (yes, I'm still working on that), I've finally made it to I Kings! Remember that guy Solomon? He was the wise guy? Well, before the Bible talks about him being successful as a king, the Bible tells us about a very important conversation he had with the man upstairs. Check out I Kings chapter 3. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Now here's Solomon's chance to get that stainless steel oven or that new ceramic tile for his kitchen because his old stuff looks very questionable....oh wait, that's me....But what do you know...Solomon replies, "...give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong." WHOA!! Right?? Solomon wanted to be a great leader, a great SERVANT for God! So that's the beginning of the chapter. The middle tells us the story of the two women who were fighting over the son ---- when I was a tot, my dad read me Bible stories before I went to bed at night and I remember him reading this one to me and showing me a picture of Solomon holding that baby by his feet ready to slice him into; can you say NIGHTMARE??? crazy --- but anyway.... the story ends with the townspeople in awe of Solomon "because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice." And let's review...why did he have wisdom? BECAUSE HE ASKED FOR IT. That simple. No hoops to jump through, no red tape; he just asked - and probably believed that God would grant it to him because God is just cool like that!

Sometimes I just forget to ask God. And then I find myself assuming that stuff's gonna happen. And sometimes it does, but imagine if I asked him for a spirit of forgiveness? A spirit of power? A spirit of love? A spirit of self-discipline? And after I asked him - BELIEVE that it'll happen. I am still learning to tap into God and sometimes I even forget that that is my goal in the first place......all that to say: Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Go ahead....ask Him.