1
Samuel 30:1-19
When
I heard this story in Sunday school, the thing that most stood out to me was
that David was brave and went after the Amalekites to get his wives, children,
and belongings back. Recently I learned
a very important lesson in prayer from this scripture: David did not go after the Amalekites UNTIL
HE INQUIRED OF THE LORD! It could be
that this now stands out to me because the Lord is teaching me to become woman
of prayer, but no matter the reason it is true.
“And
David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I
overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake
them, and without fail recover all.” –verse 8
How
often I have made decisions without going to the Lord about them. There are many decisions which would have
turned out better if I had.
In
Deuteronomy 1:40-45 we see what happens when we do not inquire of the
Lord: The people of Israel presumed that
they could still go in and attack their enemies even after the Lord told them
not to do so, and they were slaughtered because they “…would not hear, but
rebelled against the commandment of the Lord .”
In
Joshua 7:2-5 we see that Joshua took the advice of his warriors and spies and
did not inquire of the Lord before sending warriors to take the city-state of
Ai. The men of Ai started killing these
warriors and killed 36 of them as they fled before them. Joshua did not inquire of the Lord before
sending his warriors out to die but he surely did afterwards and found out that
there was sin in his own camp that needed to be dealt with before they could
continue with conquering the land promised by the Lord.
I
bet you can remember a time or times you have made decisions without seeking
out God’s will concerning them. The
second time I was preparing to go to Jamaica as a missionary I did not inquire
of the Lord until I landed flat on my back in a surgeon’s office facing
emergency surgery. I started asking the
Lord why when everything seemed to be going so well (the Mission Base had
accepted me, my working visa was being processed, and I had obtained the
finances). The Lord made it clear to me
that I had got ahead of Him, His will, and His plans for me. When I asked for forgiveness for my sin He
healed the emergency problem and made a way for me to have surgery after my
body and liver had healed. He never led
me to Jamaica but when I sought Him He placed me in a Christian Retreat
Campgrounds where I mentored young woman working there as staff as well as
further my education at a nearby Bible College.
Since
then I strive to inquire of Him in every, EVERY, major life decision (as well
as a number of minor ones too).
Inquiring of the Lord is probably the most important part of prayer; do
not think of it as selfish because He looks forward to you coming to Him. How He longs to share His wisdom with you.
Before
you make a move, go and pray. Get God’s
divine instruction and you will be successful.
You will obtain the victory!
“But even there you can look for the Lord your God. And you will find him if you look. But you must look for him with your whole being.” –Deuteronomy 4:29 ICB
