Asking God for that which we need

Brad Sullivan
Proper 15, Year B
Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Emmanuel, Houston
I Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58


What can we learn from Solomon? He prayed for wisdom, and that request pleased God so God granted him not only wisdom, but riches and honor as well. So, perhaps we could learn that if one wants to become rich, ask God for wisdom. Some might preach that message, but a lesson for us in this story is not how to get rich without actually trying nor is the lesson in this story really about gaining wisdom. A lesson for us in this story could be to know one’s limitations and to ask for God’s help with those limitations in order to serve God’s people: know one’s limitations, ask God’s help with those limitations in order to serve God’s people.

Ok, so maybe that’s three lessons, but in any case, looking at Solomon’s prayer for wisdom, there are several things we can see. First off, Solomon loved the Lord. That’s the first thing we were told in the lesson today, and his love of the Lord was first and foremost in Solomon’s life. Love the Lord.

There was a fairly young Jewish Rabbi a couple thousand years ago who preached that message. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) Jesus knew and taught the primacy of loving God. That’s the place where we start. Before we lie down at night, before we rise up in the morning, do we love the Lord? If we don’t, then everything else is for naught. Now, I know we all know this already, but it’s helpful to be reminded every once in a while, and it’s a nice thing to think about.

Before anything else, before we start our day, before showers and coffee, we get to love the Lord, and at the close of our day, after the winding down and the tooth brushing, we get to love the Lord.

How we choose to love the Lord in those times is up to each of us. Maybe we’ll simply remember that fact and say, “I love you Lord.” Maybe we’ll read some scripture. Maybe we’ll get down on our knees and pray by our bedside; I know some in this parish who do so every morning and night. Maybe we’ll write out our thoughts of the day, offering them up to the Lord, giving thanks and asking for guidance and help. Maybe we’ll pray prayers from the prayer book, or do whatever brings us nearer to the Lord, and allows us to love the Lord and to rest in his love for a while.

However we choose to do so, we start our lives by getting to love the Lord. So then, what do we see next from Solomon? He was king of Israel, God told him to ask what he should give, and what does Solomon do? Well, first off, he loves the Lord a little bit more. Solomon tells the Lord how wonderful he has been to his father David and to him, and then, Solomon says, “I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or to come in.” (I Kings 3:7b)

Before asking for wisdom, Solomon recognizes his limitations. Although God has been wonderful to him, placing him on the throne of his father David, Solomon knows that he has a huge task before him, governing the people of Israel, and he knows that he is not up to the task. I love the language that Solomon used, “I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or to come in.”

Solomon was very humble before the Lord, knowing and naming his limitations. Solomon had already accomplished a good amount, stopping a couple of attempts at taking his throne, and Solomon could have easily become puffed up and prideful, thinking he was able to rule all on his own. He was king, after all, but instead, he humbled himself.

Considering the weight of the task before him, he realized his limitations and acknowledged that although a king, he was only a child.
So the lesson for us, then, is to acknowledge our limitations. Now by acknowledging our limitations, I don’t necessarily mean taking stock of anything at which we happen not to excel. I’m not very good at sports, but so far as I know, suddenly being great at sports isn’t going to help me to serve God’s people. We acknowledge our limitations in serving God’s people.

Solomon served God’s people by being king, and he realized he did have the understanding he needed to govern. How, then, do each of us serve God’s people, and what are our limitations in doing so? Some of us may teach. Some may invite others to know God. Some serve God’s people by being honest at work. Some care for children. Some care for the elderly. Some have a heart for the poor. Some have a heart for music and worship. Some simply treat other people with love and respect.

All of us have some way in which each of us serves God’s people. Most of us won’t be kings or even be in positions of prominence, but we all have our parts to play in loving God and serving God’s people. I quote from two passages of Ecclesiasticus, one in chapter 38 and the other in chapter 44:

All these [farmers, craftsmen, laborers] rely on their hands, and all are skilful in their own work. Without them no city can be inhabited, and wherever they live, they will not go hungry. Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly. They do not sit in the judge’s seat, nor do they understand the decisions of the courts; they cannot expound discipline or judgement, and they are not found among the rulers. But they maintain the fabric of the world, and their concern is for the exercise of their trade. (Ecclesiasticus 38:31-34)
Some of them have left behind a name, so that others declare their praise. But of others there is no memory; they have perished as though they had never existed; they have become as though they had never been born, they and their children after them. But these also were godly men, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; (Ecclesiasticus 44:8-10)

Whether prominent in human history or known only to our friends and family, we each, again, have a part to play in serving God’s people. However we all are to serve, then, we first get to love God. Then, we get to acknowledge our shortcomings and seek God’s help. We don’t have to be perfect at our tasks or even ready to serve as God intends. We, like Solomon, get to seek God’s help in serving his people.

Solomon prayed for wisdom because that’s what he needed to serve God’s people as their king. While wisdom is certainly something good for us all to have, wisdom might not be the critical thing each of us is lacking in order to serve God’s people as God wants each of us to do.
So, the questions for each of us are: how does God want me to serve his people, and what do I need in order best to serve God’s people? What am I lacking?

For me, one thing I need is peace and serenity. It’s something with which I’ve always struggled. I had a great childhood with loving parents, and yet peace is something with which I’ve always struggled. I’ve found much more peace and serenity since I’ve begun praying for them, and at the same time, I still struggle. I need to keep praying for peace and serenity. Peace and serenity are two things for which I need to pray in order to serve God’s people.

Each of us has something for which we need to pray. Each of us can take Solomon’s example and ask God to grant us those things we need in order to serve God’s people and bring his love into the world. Finally, before I finish, I’d like to leave us with the idea of resting in God’s love. That’s part of why we’re here. We’re here to worship God and to rest in his love. So take some time to meditate on God’s love for you while you’re here and when you are by yourself. Rest in God’s love, and then you’ll be able to bring that love to others. Amen.