5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
6Solomon answered…9 “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” (See all of 1 Kings 3:4-15)

As I read this passage this morning it struck me that Solomon could have asked for anything from God and yet he asked for “discernment in administering justice.” God had appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. What if God did the same to me? What would I ask for? Would it be something extremely temporal such as relief from a particular hardship? What is the one thing in your life right now that seems to loom over you like a cloud that never leaves? Would you seek relief from this? Or would it be for financial security and a long life as is alluded to in this passage? (Which by the way, God still contingently promised to him—see verses 13-15.) What is it that we would ask from God if we could ask for anything? I find this an interesting question to ponder.

But Solomon asked for discernment in administering justice which makes sense for a king. I am not a king but I realize that I administer justice quite frequently—mostly as a parent. This is not always an easy task and I don’t want to ever exasperate or frustrate my boys (see Ephesians 6:4). So my prayer this morning, and for the future, is that I have discernment in administering justice in my parenting as well as any other situation in which I am placed and required to do so.

And my prayer is for those who are in positions that require them to do this professionally. Specifically I am praying for my friend Tyler who is a Company Commander in the Army. This position often requires that he administer justice and make decisions regarding the soldiers under him. He has the power and authority to administer various levels of punishment for wrongdoing and I pray that God will provide him with discernment as he does this on a regular basis. Furthermore, he is serving in Iraq right now and I pray that he is discerning in the interactions he has with Iraqi people so that he may justly make the decisions he faces on a daily basis—often regarding the lives of Iraqi people that may or may not have been a part of attacks on coalition forces. These decisions are usually made on incomplete information but they still must be made. May God provide him great discernment.