Suppose God appeared to you one day, and He spoke to you in a way that you were 100% sure it was Him. And suppose He asked you to make one request—anything you wanted–and He promised to grant it immediately.
What would your request be?
That’s kind of how it was with King Solomon, right? God said to him, “Ask what you wish Me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5, NASB). God left Himself open on that one. He placed no boundaries on what Solomon could ask for.
Let me just take a wild guess at some of the answers some believers might give under the same scenario. How about, I want to be the richest person in the world, or I want to be famous, or I want to be the most powerful person in the world. Or what about, make me the most beautiful person in the world, or the world’s most decorated athlete?
But Solomon didn’t ask for anything like that. He said to God, “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (verse 9).
Solomon responded that way because he was young, he was the king of God’s people, and he had no idea how to lead the people. He loved the Lord (verse 3), and he wanted to please Him through serving Him. Solomon realized that wisdom from God would go a long way in helping him succeed.
Your Heart and Your Actions
So, that’s how Solomon responded to God. But the question I have posed is, what would your request be. I submit that your answer resides in your heart. Here is what Jesus said about that: “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matthew 12:34, NASB). So, that means your answer to God will be in accordance with whatever is abundantly in your heart.
If, for example, you are preoccupied with making money and obtaining wealth, you will answer accordingly. But if you love the Lord and doing His will is your priority, your request to God will be according to that. It was because of Solomon’s love for God that he answered God the way he did.
We can expand this truth to every aspect of our life. How we respond in words or by action to the issues of this life is determined by the content of our heart. That’s why you must diligently guard your heart. That means you must be careful what you allow to be planted in our heart. These are the things that will govern your conduct in life. Accordingly, Solomon penned these words:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, KJV).
Filling Your Heart with God’s Word
Every genuine Christian knows it’s important to read the Bible. The goal should be to read God’s Word daily. But what if a Christian fails to do that? What would be the consequences?
First, remember what Jesus said–the mouth speaks of that which fills the heart. The key phrase is, “fills the heart.” Every believer knows at least a little bit of the Bible. But for God’s Word to radically transform your life, it must fill your heart. One cannot speak or act in accordance with what is not in his heart. The Holy Spirit can bring the Word to our memory only to the extent that it resides in our heart.
The point is that we can’t separate what we say and do from what prevails in our heart. That’s why, if we want our life to please God, we need to fill our heart with His Word.
That brings us to the question I posed at the beginning of this post. What would your request be to God’s offer? According to Jesus, it would be in accordance with what’s abundantly in your heart.
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
