DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-11-30
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Kings 3:3-5
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: ³ Solomon loved the Lord and followed his father David’s instructions, but Solomon also offered sacrifices and burned incense at the shrines. ⁴ The most important shrine was in Gibeon, and Solomon had offered more than a thousand sacrifices on that altar.
⁵ One night while Solomon was in Gibeon, the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”

APPLICATION: So often we bow the head to pray, and the words are automatic. We’ve heard the pastor, Sunday School teacher and friends pray, and always wished that we could perfect our prayers like them, so we adopt certain points from their prayers so we might ‘sound legitimate’ in the ears of our peers. But wait a minute, who are we praying to? What are we praying for? Do we have faith in the One to whom we are praying? Do we have a personal relationship with the One to whom we are praying, and have confidence that our deepest thoughts, expressions and requests will be safe in His hands? Do we know that He could accomplish everything that may be bearing on my heart? Friends, I believe that when the God of all creation reaches down in love and shares His interest in us and simply asks us to share openly our needs with the only One who could do anything about them, suddenly our minds will turn away from memorized, written, or repetitious prayers, and the words from our heavy heart, or our joyous heart, or our pleading heart, will bubble forth from a heart longing for God to hear us, and meet our needs. Suddenly we realize that we are in the presence of the One who created us, the One who loved us even when we were so unlovable, the One who raised Lazarus from the dead, made the blind man see again and the crippled man walk for the first time – the only One who has the compassion to put up with our worry, heal our loved ones, encourage the broken heart, get the attention of the lost, and fulfill His promise of welcoming us home to glory when that day comes! Praise the Lord, Without the fear of retribution, we could freely, openly, and in all honesty tell our Father exactly what we need and what we want. He is in control, and He knows before we do, what the best course of action is for our lives! Solomon was blessed with much more than he asked for, even though he was in Gibeon to offer sacrifices to a false god. There is no telling what God has in store for us – His precious children! Oh that we will recognize Him the next time that we bow our heads in prayer, and may we always be prepared to answer Him when He asks the same question of us that He did of Solomon, ‘ask Me for anything you want’.

PRAYER: Lord my prayer today is that others might see Jesus, and that they may hear the whisper of their Creator when He tells them ‘Ask for whatever you want, and I will give it to you’. What have we possibly done to deserve this oh Lord? May You see hearts that are filled with gratitude for all that You have already done for us, and may we have the faith to ask, in faith, for everything You approve of. Oh, that Jesus will always be our greatest desire. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!