What Would You Ask?

Can you imagine God appearing to you as He did to Solomon in 2 Chronicles1:7? "That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, 'Ask for whatever you want me to give you.'"

In fact, God has given this very offer to you. Jesus said it in Matthew 7:7,8 and repeatedly elsewhere, "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock that the door will be opened to you." What are you asking God to do in your life?

This may have been the most telling moment in the life and reign of Solomon. Everything he would accomplish rested on his answer.

MIND WHAT YOU ASK.

God was testing the young king's heart. The LORD was pleased that Solomon did not ask for material wealth that wouldn't last. He was pleased that Solomon did not seek vengeance or even justice against his enemies. Because Solomon's request pleased God, God gave him much more than he asked. Is God pleased with your prayers?

What are you praying for? I am part of a group of pastors who have agreed to hold one another accountable to personal spiritual disciplines. One of our disciplines is to write out ministry goals and read them 3 times a week. When I sat down to write my ministry goals, I realized that they may be the most important prayers of my life. I did not want them to be superficial or temporary. I did not want them to fall short of God's will in any way.

In the Lord's prayer Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done. God's plans and directions are always worth praying for. I suspect God has already been showing you some things to ask Him for. He may have impressed you with scripture. He may be giving you spiritual hints through the circumstances of life. He may have been sending others to show you what He is doing and what He desires to do through you.

Having ministry goals tacked on my wall is new to me. These requests bring a powerful continuity to my prayer life. As I read these goals watching God bring them together, I grow more and more assured of what God is saying and doing in my life. What should you have tacked up on your wall?

MEASURE WHAT YOU ASK.

It is surely all right to ask God for small things. "Lord, let me find a parking place by the door." "Let this be a good haircut." "Let my son win his race." But it is important to ask God for great things as well. But it is not always easy to do.

Asking for great things can be embarrassing. If you start praying for great things in private they will creep into your public prayers as well. Before long you may be feeling like Jonah on the spot[i] with your reputation in the hands of God.

Great prayers can be uncomfortable for you and others around you. "Look, could this happen even if the floodgates of the heavens were opened?" as the captain in Samaria challenged the man of God in 2 Kings 7. Great praying calls us out of our comfort zones like Peter asking the Lord to let him come out on the water. It can be downright terrifying to stretch yourself out to God in faith.

It can be difficult to stick with great prayers. At the death of Elisha, Johoash king of Israel went down to him weeping, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!" Johoash had not appreciated this mighty prayer warrior until the prophet was about to die. This was his last chance to benefit from the man of God. Elisha told him to get a bow and shoot it. He put his hands on the kings hands as he shot saying, "[ii]The arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!"

Then Elisha told him to take the arrows and strike the ground. The king struck the ground three times and stopped. Elisha was angry. "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it." Wouldn't be tragic to miss God's victory because our prayers are too small and too short?

Have you measured what you are asking God to do in your life, in your church? Are you asking for things that will touch many people? Are you asking for things that will have eternal significance? Are you asking for things that only God can accomplish?

MEAN WHAT YOU ASK.

I sometimes warn people to be careful what they ask for, because you may get it. We sometimes fall into careless prayer, because we do not realize that God is really listening. We are like the group praying for Peter's release from Prison who did not believe when Rhoda, the servant girl, told them he was knocking at the door. Are you leaving God's answer knocking at your door because you didn't realize God was listening?

One of the advantages of reading my ministry goals several times a week is that they become planted in my heart. As I pray for something everyday my heart begins to plead for God to work. Have you ever wondered why Jesus taught us to be passionate and persistent in our prayers[iii]? I am not sure I know all the reasons this pleases God. But I think I know a little of His purpose here. God is trying to include me in His passion and persistence.

Could God have given Abraham a son when he was young? Of course He could have done that. But God was doing a work in Abraham's life that would touch a thousand generations. God is not partial to meaningless, casual praying. He is molding us into His passion, His character, into His purpose for our lives.

Can you imagine the awe that must have come over Solomon that night? We should have the same sense of fear as we realize that the God of the universe has invited us to ask. What will you ask Him? Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, and he begged for sight[iv]. Will you pray spiritual eyes? James and John asked to sit one on His left hand and one on His right in glory[v]. Jesus did not rebuke them, but He did say those positions were still open. Would you like one of them? When King Xerxes asked that question of Esther, she asked for her life and the lives of her people[vi]. What are you praying for?

[i] Jonah was embarrassed because God had pity on the people he had publicly condemned.

[ii] 2 Kings 13:14-19

[iii] James 5:17, Luke 18:1

[iv] Mark 10:56

[v] Mark 10:36

[vi] Esther 7:3,4