Article May 30, 2005 Issue

I'D HAVE ASKED FOR MONEY

By Melissa Hayden

ONE MORNING, I AWOKE WITH A DEEP SENSE OF DESPAIR ABOUT OUR FINANCIAL situation. We were struggling to pay our bills and make ends meet. My husband had accepted a job and we'd moved to a different state. But the job hadn't worked out. Now he was temporarily working in a low-wage part-time job. And my in-home business wasn't yet big enough to contribute more than a meager income. Things looked bleak.

I usually start my days with quiet prayer. That morning, though, there were a number of tasks that needed to be accomplished first thing. It was mid-morning before I got some time to myself, and by then the gloom had pretty well set in. I couldn't even think of any prayer beyond a plea for help.

So I began reading the Bible and turned to the story where God asks King Solomon in a dream what He could provide him to aid in governing his new kingdom (see I Kings, chap. 3). Solomon asks God for "an understanding heart." I shook my head and thought, "I'd have asked for money." Reading on, I realized how silly that thought was. The Bible story continues, explaining that God was so pleased with Solomon's request that He not only gave him the wisdom he asked for but riches and honor as well.