If you could have one wish and have it granted to you…   what would you wish for?

Think about it deeply and seriously for a moment.

Wishing and wanting is such a part of our culture and experience that we may never really get past the desire to lavish fortune, fame, pleasure on ourselves. How many times have we said we wished to win the lottery, or to be a famous movie star, or to go on a permanent vacation? We dream about such wishes coming true…   but we know that there is a 99.999% chance that they won’t, so we never really spend time exploring what we would actually do if we were granted one single wish.

Again, think about it deeply and seriously for a moment…   because what we would really really wish for reflects what we really really value and what we really really believe.

We may not be able to ‘wish upon a star’ like in fairy-tales and dreams, but as Christians we are granted something just as powerful: prayer.

Part of our experience of prayer is similar to ‘wishing’ isn’t it? We express to God, one-on-one, our deepest hopes and desires and values because we know that God has the power and authority to answer prayer.

Do you pray for the same things you wish for? If our deepest and most recurrent prayers and wishes are selfish (for ourselves, our own prosperity, our own pleasure) then we’ve somewhat missed the point of our lives and our lives with God.

Solomon inherited the throne from great King David. And, to this day, Solomon is revered as one of the wisest and wealthiest men to have ever lived. Do you know how he got that way? Lots of people think that he came to the throne with all of that wisdom and wealth. Not so! It was a gift from God in response to deep hopes, desires, and values expressed by Solomon in prayer at the outset of his reign: Solomon prayed 

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 your great people?”

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. ¹³ I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. ¹⁴ If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”(1 Kings 3:7-14)

Solomon’s deepest wishes and prayers were not based upon selfish desires. Instead, they were based upon an awesome respect for God, a serious commitment to serving God, a humble estimation of his own abilities, and a great concern for the well-being of the people he will rule over. In short, he wished and prayed for that which would help him do right by God and others.

God was so pleased and impressed with this selfless wish that he not only granted to Solomon wisdom the likes of which no one has ever achieved before him or after him, but he also grated Solomon great gifts riches and fame!

We aren’t guaranteed anything the world can offer our lives: not riches, not fame, not long life, not health, not peace. But, we are guaranteed the power and presence, the will and promise, and the love and favor of God. When our deepest hopes, desires, and values match those of God…   we can expect God to answer our prayer and fill our lives with what we really really want.

 

Pastor Erik