At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

The speech pleased the Lord , that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

I Kings 3:5-14

We all face the question God asked Solomon in one way or another. “What do you want?” In other words, what are you going to believe God for? Usually, this question does not come to us in a dream or vision as it did with Solomon. Yet, it might come in a time of prayer or worship, or perhaps life itself presents this question.

I believe this question is a promise, but it is also a test. It reveals the deepest desires of our hearts. We might ask the Lord to bless us with material prosperity. We might ask God to deliver us from our troubles.

Maybe like Solomon we pray that God would use us in a mighty way. Solomon asked that he might minister with the wisdom of God, and the Lord was pleased to grant his request. If we want to be used of God, I believe the Lord is pleased. Perhaps that is better than asking for riches or worldly things or even to get out of our troubles.

However, I believe there is a better answer still. “Lord, I want You!” The greatest blessing God gives is Himself. The highest human desire is for God. Moreover, the thing God most wants to give us is Himself. Probably no one would disagree with that statement in theory. Yet, few really practice it. Usually, we spend little time asking God to reveal Himself to us and to give Himself to us. We spend much more time asking God to do something for us.

Don’t get me wrong. Asking God to do things for us is good. Yet, to really pass the test, when it comes to what we want, our greatest desire must be for God even if wanting Him means we might not get our other desires. Those who are brave enough and have faith enough to ask of God in this manner will find that God gives them everything else besides. That “everything” might not look like they had planned. Yet, it will certainly be better than they planned.