1 Ki 3:11-12 (NIV) 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.” Jesus is pleased that you are turning to Him for your healing from addiction issues. You are looking to Him for the meeting of your needs; that is pleasing to Him. As you go through these studies and pray these prayers, you are asking for those things Jesus wants to do for you. This puts you into a position for getting your prayers answered positively.

1 Ki 3:13 (NIV) Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. You are coming to Jesus for His help with your difficulties with addiction; but, He is going to do so much more for you. You are allowing your struggles with addiction to motivate you to allow Jesus to get involved in your life. He will be using this motivation to lead you into such blessings, miracles, and healing that they will show you how much you need to give the rest of your life to Jesus and His Bible.

1 Ki 3:14 (NIV) And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life. Jesus and His Bible will work on your attitudes and character. The power and gifts of God must be used through attitudes and character that Jesus has helped you get. It is easy to seek the blessings, miracles, and healing of God, get them, and then walk away. You will only remain, if you pray and ask God to empower you to stay in them after you get your prayers answered. BUT, the thing that will help you the most to stay in the principles of the Bible is for you to learn WHY. You need to know why the Bible is asking you to believe and do those things in it. If you don’t allow Jesus to teach you WHY He is saying these things in the Bible, you will lose interest and start applying world training and human reasoning to your life.

1 Ki 3:15 (NIV) 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. Solomon moved into doing those things that God was asking of him. He came out of the dream and did things that looked like he was going to stay on the right track. But, it was a matter of where his heart was; his father David had an emotional, heart-felt, real and sincere relationship with God. Solomon prayed for the right things and went through the motions of doing the right things; but, his heart wasn’t open to allowing God in. You can’t just have a studious, mental, and scholarly relationship with God; your healing from difficulties with addiction will only come through that relationship.

As you join Jesus in these studies and prayers, it is vital that you allow your heart to get involved. If you just go through the motions, then you will learn a lot of principles; but, you won’t FEEL a special love and appreciation for Jesus. God is all about relationships; He isn’t trying to use your issues with addiction to just heal you. He wants to bring you into His love, respect, and compassion for you. Rather than just trying to learn these principles, He wants you to stop and look at how much He loves you. He has provided all these things because He loves you and cares about your suffering. He is doing all these supernatural things because He really loves you. Pray and ask Jesus to help you read all these things while stopping off to see how much God is being generous and compassionate to you.

Eccl 1:2 (NIV) “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” This is the results of Solomon’s system of life-pursuit. God gave him incredible blessings and power; but, he walked away carrying his blessings with him and left God. What was Solomon seeking rather than a relationship with God? He was seeking money, possessions, positions, power, popularity, prestige, pleasure, and accomplishments. Instead of doing what the Bible teaches, he sought these THINGS first. Mat 6:33 (NIV) But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these THINGS will be given to you as well. When he went after THINGS first, he ended up with Satan’s bait. There isn’t anything wrong with THINGS, it just matters why you get them, how you get them, and what you do with them once you get them.