Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Solomon's petition prayer explaining the immensity of his responsibility and his lack of the requisite experience and understanding is a wonderful example of how to pray. Solomon knows two things: that he has been given a mission by God to be leader of his people; and he knows what he doesn't know. Solomon asks for something that God can share, because this is an aspect of God's very essence, the spirit of Wisdom.

Out of the various and "essential" details of life, I can easily tend towards prayer for God's answer to practical, concrete, and material issues. Looking a bit deeper, I see that I am merely telling God about my life and cares, and essentially asking to impose my will (be done on earth...), rather than asking to trust and participate in God's will. 

Solomon's prayer is answered, abundantly, because he asks for a share of God's very nature -- Wisdom. In my Examen, though I can often see God's hand responding to my more "fix this" kind of petition, it is much more the case that God responds by sharing the gifts of his very nature: love, forgiveness, mercy, generosity, and wisdom. Wonderfully, God knows me better than myself, and gives me what I need, more than what I want.

—Fr. Glen Chun, SJ, a priest of the Midwest Province, is community minister of Bellarmine House of Studies in St. Louis.

Blessed are you, God of the universe,
Who have created the earth and all creatures,
and who calls us into being and formed us in your own image.
Continue your creation in us by sharing of your very self,
that we may continue to be formed in your nature through your gifts of the Spirit:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and faithful.

—Fr. Glen Chun, SJ