via TJC
So God said to [Solomon], “Since you have asked for [a discerning heart] and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked…”
—1 Kings 3:11-12a NIV
Welcome to 1 Kings… a book detailing King Solomon’s “great, then gross” reign, the schism between Israel and Jerusalem, and the ministry of Elijah the Prophet. We aren’t sure when this book was exactly written, but we do know 1st and 2nd Kings used to be one big book. The text encompasses about 400 years of history, so strap in!
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. with a list of crap on my mind… The Enemy sought to remind me of all the things I was “behind” on:
Friendships
Finances
Work
Car maintenance
House maintenance
Family
Romance with my wife
Exercise
Ministry
among other things…
These things weighed on me like a collection of anvils pressing down on my heart. No matter how hard I tried to fight these separate battles, it felt as though I was losing the war… I would pray and pray for these individual anvils to be removed…
In our Anchor Verse today, we have concrete evidence from God Himself that He indeed does NOT answer every prayer we send Him! He is telling Solomon, “If you would have prayed for long life & wealth, I, in fact, would not have given it to you!”
Solomon prayed a simple prayer: for a discerning heart. And like the proud Dad He is, God was delighted by it.
That morning, I had no choice but to change my prayer. Instead of praying away all the anvils, I prayed this (in somewhat desperation): “God, show me the value my life has.” Within 20 minutes of that prayer, I discovered a sticky note my wife left me that said, “I [heart] U!” That was all I needed that day to keep fighting.
Daily Battle Order
Delight your Father through your prayers this morning. Pray right now like Solomon did: for a discerning heart to govern your own kingdom (lowercase k).
Pray for God to show you the value your life has. Listen for His answer throughout the day. Share what you hear with an Ally.
Lord, you know the anvils I am dealing with in my life. You can make them disappear. Even if you don't, I know I can trust you because you have a greater glory that will come from how you use those anvils to give me a "Jesus shape".
Exactly what I needed to hear. This DBO is an answer to a prayer I prayed to my Abba Father this very morning! Thank you Lord!