Read:1 Kings 3:5-9

What would you wish for if you could have whatever you liked? Imagine a genie in a bottle popped up and said you could have whatever you liked...what would you choose? Would you ask never to be sick, to always be healthy and well? Would you ask for lots of money so you could buy whatever you liked? Maybe you would ask for that bike or other toy that you've wanted for a long time. Or maybe you would ask to be famous, or to be able to do your work easily at school and get good marks.

King Solomon was able to choose whatever he liked. And it was the Lord, the Almighty King, the one who is all powerful and who could give anything at all, who offered Solomon whatever he liked. What should Solomon have asked for? God said he could have whatever he wanted, and God would give it.

Solomon had just become king of the people, so maybe he should have asked to win every battle, or maybe that the people would always love him, or maybe even for riches. But no, Solomon didn’t ask for these things; rather, he asked the Lord for wisdom. He was beginning a new task and so wanted to be able to rule wisely. He wanted to be able to know what was right and wrong. He wanted to do the Lord's will in his ruling as king.

And this should be our wish as well. It should be our prayer. Daily we should ask the Lord for wisdom to do our tasks, that we may know what is right and wrong. We should ask the Lord to help us serve him always.

The Lord gave Solomon the wisdom he asked for. But Solomon pointed ahead to the Lord Jesus Christ who had perfect wisdom, and who always obeyed the Lord. He was perfectly obedient in our place. Because of his obedience and sacrifice, God hears our prayers for wisdom. Let us pray every day for this wisdom from the Lord!

Reflection with your child:

Why should you pray for wisdom every day?