Is it okay to want something?

1 Kings 3:5That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

Desire is good and healthy if directed toward the proper object: that which is good and right and God-honoring. It is ironic that the same basic desire can be right or wrong, depending on our motives and the focus of our desire. For example, the desire to love a woman, if directed to your wife, is healthy and right. But that same desire directed to someone who is not your spouse is adultery. The desire to lead an organization is healthy if your motive is to serve others, but unhealthy and wrong if your motive is to gain the power to control others.

Psalm 73:25I desire you more than anything on earth.

Isaiah 26:8Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

Jeremiah 29:13“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

Our greatest desire should be to have a deep, personal relationship with God, because he is the only one who can truly satisfy us. When we find our satisfaction first in God, all our other desires will find their proper place.