The story of Solomon’s dream deserves attention. As he began his reign over Israel, God appeared to him during the night. “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon could have asked for wealth or long life. Instead he prayed, “So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”
Solomon showed spiritual discernment by his request and asked for a discerning heart as he governed. He recognized the difficulty of his task and the need for dependence on God’s wisdom. God granted his request and promised wealth and long life as well. Unfortunately we also know that in later years Solomon grew distracted by his many foreign wives and his wealth, thus dulling his spiritual discernment.
What better request could we make than for a discerning heart – the spiritual discernment to know the difference between right and wrong, to admit our sins and ask forgiveness, to look to God’s Son Jesus Christ, “one greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42), as our Savior from sin, and to live joyfully according to God’s commandments. Though we don’t rule a nation, we also have heavy responsibilities in our home, church, and employment. Only God’s gift of a discerning heart will enable us to serve Him wisely and lovingly.
PRAYER: O Lord, give me a discerning heart so that I may know the difference between right and wrong, admit my sins, and come to You for forgiveness. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)