At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 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?”
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 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, 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. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.
1 Kings 3:5-15

Dear God, this story is Solomon’s claim to fame. If you ask any Jewish or Christian person (or even secular person) about Solomon, this is the story they know. Solomon got to ask you for anything after he had shown that he was going to follow in David’s path and worship you, and he asked for wisdom. Funny, though. He didn’t ask for “wisdom.” The King James Version and New American Standard both say he asked for an “understanding heart.” The New International Version and New Living Translation say, “discerning heart.” So let’s look at discernment and understanding.

Discernment, in my mind, is the ability to assess a situation and break it down into what the actual truth is. Merriam-Webster defines it as “showing insight and understanding.” As a leader, this is a critical skill. The physical world and situations around us can be very confusing. Relationships have so much more going on than what meets the eye. People’s motives are often difficult to assess. It can be difficult to predict all of the ramifications of one action over another.

Father, I’m almost sorry you gave Solomon all of the other things in addition to discernment and understanding. I wish for his sake that he had been able to live a simpler life as a judge of Israel instead of its king. We’ll get into the rest of Solomon’s life and the decisions he made later, but it still sits in the back of my head that three out of the first four children born to David died violent deaths. Kingdoms, thrones, and power are fool’s gold. Please help me to be discerning and understanding, but don’t do it for my sake. Please do it so that my life will make a difference for you and your kingdom.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen