The #1 Thing A Great Leader Should Ask For
If someone said that you could ask for anything in the world, what would you ask for? Money, power, fame, peace, prosperity? Would you ask for good health, comfort, long-life, adventure, love?
Would your answer change if the person with the offer was God? I mean, God can do anything, create anything and make anything happen. If God offered to give you anything your heart desired, what would you ask for?
King Solomon was given this exact opportunity of a life-time.
Brief Background
Solomon had some pretty big shoes to fill. He succeeded his father, David, and became the third king of the nation of Israel. David had been a very successful king by many standards. He also had several spectacular failings along the way. And Solomon was there to witness much of David’s experience on the throne. I am sure Solomon was more than a little anxious about his new job.
God’s Question for Solomon
Upon becoming king, God told Solomon that he could ask for anything he wanted.
When given this amazing opportunity, Solomon would have been tempted to ask for many different things – success, fame, popularity, wealth, peace (the nation had known war for a long time), an easy king-ship, or any number of things to make things better for him.
Solomon’s Response
What was Solomon’s response? Solomon thought about the people of Israel and, for the benefit of his kingship and the people, he asked for wisdom. Not the kind of wisdom to make you smart enough to win “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. But, the kind of wisdom to know right from wrong, to hear God’s voice and to make the best right decisions. And, to ask for this wisdom even when others are shouting their desires, preferences and demands at us and when the best right decision is not the popular decision.
The #1 Thing You Should Ask For
As leaders, we need to take the same approach and say, “God, I don’t really know what I am doing or what I am in for. If I am going to make a difference, you are going to have to help me. Please give me wisdom.”
Godly Wisdom
There are scenarios everyday in which we need Godly wisdom. The challenge is to set aside our pride, our fears and our own agendas and ask to be a part of God’s bigger picture instead of trying to make it all about us.
Question: What do you do when you are faced with a challenge in which you need answers that go beyond your own desires and knowledge? You can share your stories in the comments by clicking here.
17 Comments to “The #1 Thing A Great Leader Should Ask For”
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Obviously, prayer is a big action. I think it’s also important to surround oneself with Godly, wise people. I consult with my wife. I sometimes consult with church leaders. And I lean on an intimate group of friends whose advice has withstood the test of time.
That’s great advice John. Seeking counsel from wise and trusted people from various realms is indeed invaluable.
Thanks for sharing with us!
Wisdom would help us all in every aspect of life! I agree with all your points…Great post!
I agree 100%. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. My question is, where is the rest of wisdom? It’s such a dep well that I’m not sure we can plumb its depths in this life.
Thanks for the post!
Intriguing! Wisdom is important, essential; yet, there is an endless quest to comprehend. This would be an interesting question to throw out among friendly conversation 🙂
A few weeks ago, I prepared to speak as a guest preacher in a friend’s church. When I get nervous, I tend to overeat. Saturday night before preaching, I ate chocolate chip cookies ( a good vice if you’re going to have one). Lots of them (not so good if you’re trying to trim down).
I’m not exactly on the brilliant side but I didn’t need a therapist to figure out I was deeply bugged. I finally figured out that I was asking, “Is this what I should preach tomorrow?” Not exactly the best question on a Saturday night but, as noted, I don’t fall into the amazing genius category.
What settled my heart was this. God’s been speaking into my life for the last two months. The message was based on a scriptural examination of Peter’s journey. Scripture, God speaking, me absorbing His message. Yeah, I was on the right track for Sunday morning. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.–Tom
Thanks for sharing your experience! What I take from this is the significance of being consistently connected with God; and, then trusting the fact that God does speak to us, and has been speaking to us, as we have spent time with him. Thanks for the inspiration.
I have to discipline myself to ask for this. I often forget that wisdom doesn’t come from me.
I think you are spot on with it being a discipline. There is a difference between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. We have to be intentional (disciplined) in seeking Godly wisdom.
So true! I love that statement Jeff!
Sometimes I think that wisdom will just naturally come to me… you know, as I get older and “wiser”, with experiences and such. I forget to simply “ask God for it”. Good post, Steven!
Good point! I think that is one of the traps we have to watch out for as we get older and experience more things. It is easy to begin relying just on ourselves, our experiences and our knowledge. Thanks for stopping by and adding to the community.
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Steven,
Great post. Why do we forget such simple, powerful things? It scares me to think what I would really ask for if God asked me this.
When I have an important decision to make, I consult with my wife and other family members and friends whose opinion I trust. Of course, I seek God in prayer.
Wisdom was such a powerful thing for Solomon to ask for. May we all ask God for wisdom today as we walk. Thanks for a thoughtful, reminding post!
I always have that question – what will I do when the question or situation really happens. I want to think that I will always make the right decision and say the right things. But, you never know for sure until it actually comes down to it.
Wisdom is something that I pray for daily. With all of the decisions that is required of us in a day I pray that we have all the Godly wisdom that allows us to make the right choices.
Amen to that!!