Saturday, July 12, 2014 [All You Had To Do Was Ask]
10 So David asked God, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
The Lord replied, "Yes, go ahead. I will hand them over to you." 11 So David and his troops went up to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. "God did it!" David exclaimed…
13 But after a while the Philistines returned and raided the valley again. 14 And once again David asked God what to do…
(1 Chronicles 14:10, 11, 13, NLT)
David was an amazing warrior, general, and king! He is the only person in the Bible who has the honor of being known as "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22).
What does that really mean?
A person "after God's own heart" does what God wants them to do.
How do you know what God wants you to do?
Ask.
1 Chronicles 14 is one of my favorite accounts of the history of Israel with David as their king. When faced with the huge Philistine army in the Rephaim Valley, David doesn't just go out to fight them, nor does he strategize with his officers about the best plan of attack. David asked God, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines?" After getting the okay from the Lord, David and his men go out to fight them and win. What's David's reply? "God did it!" And, this is not just false humility, either. David really means this - God really did do it. It was God who handed the battle over to David and made him victorious. So, when they reassemble and come back to fight David again, David does what he did before - he asks the Lord what to do. And, again, David is victorious.
Obedience is hard for us. Asking, sometimes, is even harder. Why is this so?
I think that we don't ask because we are afraid that He will actually give us His answer…and, even more, His answer may be different from what we have already made up in our minds to do.
Notice, David wasn't forced to ask the Lord what to do about the Philistines. The Lord doesn't force us to ask Him. However, He waits, longingly, until we do. He is so "for us" that He actually wants to tell us how to overcome the difficulties that we face. We will not always like to hear His answer, but faith calls us to trust that His answer will bring victory.
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Questions
(1) What is that thing that you have already decided you won't pray about?
(2) What fear are you facing that keeps you from receiving God's answer?
Prayer
Father, we love You and want to please You, but we struggle with doing what You say. Sometimes we don't even want to ask You what to do for fear that You may actually tell us something we don't want to hear. Help us to release our need to control things and accept Your heart for our lives. In Jesus' Name. Amen
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
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