Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned for forty years over Israel – seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established. - 1 Kings 2:10-12
Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 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.’ - 1 Kings 3:3-14
Solomon came to the throne of Israel as a child. It wasn't a certainty as to who would take David's place as the king. Just prior to David's death, another son, Adonijah, had put himself forward as the heir and was throwing a big party to celebrate his ascension to the throne and David and his Mom (Bathsheba) and Zadok the priest throw together a coronation (1 Kings 1). This follows an incident a few years earlier, when another of David's sons, Absalom, openly rebelled and forced David to flee to the wilderness. So Solomon, young and inexperienced and isolated from his own siblings, with only the promise that David had made to his mother, Bathsheba, ascended the throne.
God appears to him in a dream and asks him what he wants. If it was me, I might have asked for a different job. But Solomon chooses to ask for help. The situation in Israel was complicated. David had been Israel's first king and this was the first time that power was being handed from one king to the next. There was no tradition of this and others had tried inserting themselves into the equation. God was "pleased" with Solomon's request. Why was God pleased? All of the requests were somewhat selfish. Either that he would do well or that he would come off well. Solomon asked for God's help, not just the results of God's help.
We can be tempted to bypass God in our prayers--that he is simply the means to get what we want. When we do that, we ignore God as a person and instead treat God as a checkbox to be ticked in order to get the desired result. Solomon instead focused on God the person and, as a person whom he greatly respected, asked for help and advice.
I, too, in searching for help for my family or in my job or in my groups of friends, can make the mistake of focusing on God as the means to my own goals, instead of the source of my blessings and the source of my direction.
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