Daily Devotional

I wanted to stop coaching. I felt it was time in my young Christian life to put it aside, with all my worldly goals and dreams. But the Lord said, “No!” I was shocked. We always feel God wants more dedication on our parts toward Him. But not this time. At least not in that way.

I had inquired of Him. My “answer” was given to me in the form of a Bible book – the book of Jonah. The glaring picture was of a prophet running away from his call. Me, at that time! So I stayed.

The following year I asked again, and this time the answer was, “Yes!” That change led to my eventual call to serve the Lord as a pastor. That was 42 years ago, and being a pastor remains the description of my lifetime role in service to Jesus.

Prayer made all the difference. I have been reviewing a passage about David, and what he did as he considered taking a military stance against the Philistines.

So David inquired of the Lord, saying,
“Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?”
And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”
Then David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there;
and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me
 like the breakthrough of waters.”
Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim.
And the Philistines abandoned their idols there,
so David and his men carried them away. 
2 Samuel 5:19–21, NASB

David faced a battle against a very skilled and powerful enemy. He did not rely on his leadership skills or the men of his army. Instead, he pulled aside to pray. What a lesson! While we are not talking here about the only way to pray, this scene is descriptive of one key leader’s experience before God. He asked two questions, paraphrased here: Shall I go fight them? Will You give me victory?

It can be easier at the outset to just launch out, and too often we do. It probably even seemed obvious to David: the Philistines were there to fight against Israel. What’s to ask? But step one always should be asking if we should do a particular thing, and then step two, will it work? David was not his own. He served under the captain of the host of the Lord! (Joshua 5:14). After all, where does our victory come from?

Secondly, David waited on the Lord for His answer. Patience. Faith. The answer was affirmative on both counts – Go! I will give you the victory! Such a hearing of God demands a special kind of relationship with Him. But it is one which we all must cultivate. We must learn to hear. I even believe that that kind of relationship with the Lord is actually more important than our winning particular battles. Always first, we are to know Him, to press on after that goal (Hosea 6:3). Seeking his face comes first, before His hand (Psalm 27:7–8).

So David asked in detail. Then he heard in detail. Let us not be afraid to pray in detail. We are serving Living God, after all! The third thing he did was to go! He still had to fight the battle, but was now ready to go into it with a supreme kind of confidence: I will give them into your hand! (2 Samuel 5:19). God had already given the victory! David would acknowledge later that the Lord had won the battle for them: the Lord has broken through my enemies! (2 Samuel 5:20). Perhaps this is a good fourth item to put on our list: Give thanks for the victory!

So as a quick review of one very powerful prayer experience.

1. Pray first, and pray in detail.
2. Hear what God says, in detail.
3. Go and achieve the victory in faith that God is providing.
4. Acknowledge God, that the victory came from Him!

I know that it is not always so cut and dried, nor easy to hear and carry out. But the principles remain the same. And the priority one pursuit of knowing the Lord does also. So, may you be blessed in these things in your own world of battles, and become a blessing to the church and to the kingdom as you do!

Read: 2 Samuel 5:17–25, Joshua 5:13–15
Sing: I Must Tell Jesus, Elisha A. Hoffman

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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