I’ve been having very vivid dreams lately. Almost every night, I’ve been dreaming about people from throughout my life and having lots of adventures with them. It seems like Solomon had an active dream life as well, but of a very different quality. Solomon experienced a form of communication with God during his dream state, a state of receptivity during which he experienced a profound clarity of wisdom. I wonder if, like me, Solomon’s rational, ego-driven, cognizant state of mind during his daily life had too many obstacles for open communication with God. Perhaps he, too, spent his days worrying about daily tasks, his relationships, his purpose in life and if he was good enough to be king. And yet, even as Solomon communicated his concerns to God during this dream, it seems that Solomon was able to access a depth of wisdom he didn’t know he had.
What I notice is that Solomon, during his dream state, was able to rightly order his relationship with himself, with God, his place in life, and with others. We see in verses 7 and 8 that Solomon said to God, "O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted." In this receptive dream state, Solomon noted, with clarity and wisdom:
Who he was - a youth created by God, a servant of God, chosen by God for a particular task;
Who God was - Creator, an identifier of gifts, one who coordinated the skills and talents of many people over time, one who was in relationship with people;
His social location - Solomon was a person with power but who lacked experience, who was in the midst of God’s chosen people, someone who was not the focus of all things… God retained the position of centrality;
Who the people were - these many people belonged to God. They were God’s people, not Solomon’s people.
It seems as though, once the obstacles of conscious thought were removed, God chose the dream state to invite Solomon to experience what he already had… a connection to the wisdom of God within. Solomon realized his innate capacity to move from the overwhelm and chaos of daily life into a rightly ordered reality by discovering the answers to these questions: Who am I? Who is God? Where am I? Who are these people? For Solomon, this insight was experienced in a dream. Although I think I’m more likely to gain this kind of insight during a period of deep prayer rather than a dream, and even though I’m certainly not as brilliant as Solomon became, I believe that we all have access to this kind of wisdom within.
This passage encourages me to remember that each of us has a connection to the wisdom of God. I want to trust that we can access this wisdom through a practice of prayer, becoming ever more open and receptive to the truths of God. I believe that if we prayerfully ask, Who am I? Who is God? Where am I? and Who are these people? that we will be able to move from the overwhelm and chaos of daily life and into a rightly ordered reality. Do you want to live this dream? I know I do.
Laura knows that to experience the presence and wisdom of one’s soul will expand our ability to love, transform our own lives, and create a more whole society. Learn more at www.SoulcareMKE.com.