An Open Invitation

An Open Invitation

What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you! 1 Kings 3:5

BEFORE SOLOMON BUILT THE TEMPLE, many of the people of Israel worshiped at local altars and shrines. Early in his reign, Solomon went to one of them to make his offerings, and God appeared to him there in a dream and extended an extraordinary invitation. He told Solomon to ask whatever he wanted, and it would be given to him.

Like us, Solomon could probably think of a lot of possibilities in that situation. It’s the closest we see God come to our fantasies of a genie in the bottle, though he does not subject himself to the whims of untrustworthy people. And Solomon, at least at this point in his life, was trustworthy. He prayed a good prayer, asking for wisdom to govern God’s people well.

Because of this noble prayer, God promised to give Solomon not only the wisdom he asked for but much more. Solomon would accumulate enormous wisdom, power, and wealth, and for much of his life, he brought glory to God. He understood God’s priorities and asked according to his will, and in the process he received more than he could have hoped for.

We could hardly ask for a better illustration of New Testament promises for God’s people. Jesus said that if we “seek the Kingdom of God above all else,” all else would be added to us (Matthew 6:33). He told his followers to ask “whatever you wish,” and it would be done for them, as long as they were rooted in him (John 15:7, ESV). God extended this sort of invitation to very few people in the Old Testament, and explicitly only with Solomon. Yet he extends it today to a Kingdom of priests, members of the royal family who are united with his Son.

Don’t let this offer fall to the ground. Take God up on it—again and again. Don’t be flippant with it; think it through as a steward of his riches and an ambassador of his Kingdom. But with those priorities in mind, ask extravagantly. Look at the needs around you and envision God’s unlimited resources. Talk with your Father, the King, and recognize what he wants to do. Then hear his voice: “What do you want?”

Nothing is too great and nothing too small to commit into the hands of the Lord.