I Samuel 17-18
How do you obtain a heart that pleases God? And how do you get the faith to fight giants?
These attributes don’t come over night. They come with a history of worshipping God and getting to know Him.
David’s father and brothers discounted David because he was the youngest, and because all he did was keep the sheep…they thought.
Actually, as David sat out on the hillside watching the sheep, he was looking up around him at the beautiful nature, and he was worshipping his Creator. As you read the Psalms of David, you see a man who was very mindful of God’s hand in everything. And you see a man who was continually praising God.
As he approaches the battle with Goliath, you also see a man who had a history of trusting God. This faith didn’t come over night. There had been a time when a bear had tried to attack the sheep, and God delivered the bear into David’s hands. Then there had been a time when a lion had tried to attack the sheep, and God had delivered the lion into his hands.
So here is Goliath taunting the armies of Israel. Day after day, the grown men would fear and tremble as they were being taunted, but David saw it differently. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine to come against the armies of the living God?”(17:26) He doesn’t see the battle as man’s battle, but God’s.
Later he tells Saul that just as the Lord had delivered the lion and the bear into his hands, so will He deliver this Philistine. And he will do it with his own armor, which he has tested. He doesn’t need swords and spears, he will do it with a slingshot.
Such faith. We want it, but it only comes one way. It doesn’t pop out of nowhere; it comes from a life lived with our Father. A history of having won battles by His hand, and of knowing that God is on our side, and it is He who is our deliverer.
Are you going through a battle right now? Let this be part of your history with God.
Trust Him and be obedient, knowing that, as with David, the battle is His when you do it His way.
Luke 11:1-28
Are you praying for someone to come to know the Lord, and it seems that they never will? Well, don’t stop praying.
You are like the person who comes to acquire some bread for another. You have to be determined that you will not give up.
The verses which say, ” ask, seek, and knock,” have a different nuance in the Greek. The Word actually says, “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.” Persistence is the key.
Why isn’t asking one time enough? Well, when we are praying for others to come to God, we are dealing not only with God but with them – and their wills. Our Father won’t violate their wills, but He will wait for the opportune moment to deal with them.
In the meantime, Satan is trying to deal with them also, so we have a battle in the heavenlies going on over your loved ones. God always wins, if we do things His way. So don’t give up.
If you feel the unction to pray, do it. If you feel the unction to speak to them, do that also. Follow His lead, but above all, don’t stop!
“Everyone who asks, receives; everyone who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened to him.” (v. 10) What a promise.
I don’t know about you, but I am holding that one close!
