The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 7 (day five) v 3  Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”  v 17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

The relationship between king David and the prophet Nathan is remarkable.  At first, Nathan gives David the green light on building the Temple. Then, comes a completely different word of counsel.  Yet, David doesn’t question, challenge, or berate Nathan.  Instead, David goes to pray (a recurring activity in 2 Samuel). David demonstrates a humble heart and a high trust for the counsel of Nathan.  Nathan is communicating a change of plans for David (the king).  Yet, David is willing to listen and then process this information.

Maybe one of the lessons we can learn from the life of David is to have people ready and willing to speak God’s truth and perspective into our lives. Someone, we know from experience, walks closely and consistently with the Lord.  Someone we trust that has no agenda other than wanting God’s best and God’s will for our lives.  How valuable was Nathan to David?

Do you have anyone like that? (mentor, longtime friend, family member) Are you a “Nathan” to anyone?  Perhaps God’s voice can be heard through the counsel of those around us.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 7 (day four)

Why me?  David asked God why He had chosen to bless him and his household.  In modern times, we tend to say we are so loved by God that He blesses us on our own merit.  David has a different answer…he answers himself in vv. 20-21.  David says it is nothing I have done…I don’t deserve any blessing…it is all for God’s glory.

There is a modern song that says when Jesus was on the cross, He was only thinking of me.  David would say, ‘Jesus was being obedient to His Father and He was thinking only of Him.’  David had an accurate view of God.  Our self-centered approaches to God’s blessings are the complete opposite of David’s understanding.

Have you ever substituted your own goodness and worth for God’s glory and mercy?  As Blake Coffee reminded us last Sunday, we must maintain a high view of God…”not of works lest any man should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:9)

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 7 (day three)

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord.”

Imagine a trusted advisor—one who knows you well, knows the people and financial and social realities surrounding you, and is a highly-sought-after consultant in economic, diplomatic, military, and civil matters. What if this advisor informs you that every indicator in your life and work signals that you’re directing your affairs well—and that if you continue to direct your life and steward your resources in the way you have up to now, there is every reason to believe that for generations to come a peaceful and secure future awaits you, your family, and all those for whom you are responsible? How would you respond? Fear of failure? Fear of catastrophic loss? Fear of your own inadequacies? David responded with wonder at the Lord’s kindness, and wonder led him into confidence.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 7 (day two)

Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ vs. 7

It was a good plan. I would be willing to bet that anyone that David proposed it to would agree that it was a good plan. Build the Lord a house. Honor the Lord by creating a beautiful temple. What could be bad about that? It wasn’t God’s plan. Has that happened to you? Have you had a desire to do something great, selfless even, only to be told no? That can be pretty defeating…unless you are after God’s heart. Listen to David’s response.

Now therefore, O Lord God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken. Vs. 25

David’s plan was good, but God’s was best. David did not rashly run out thinking his good idea was the final word. He heard from the Lord and was given a greater understanding of God’s ultimate plan. Greater than David could ever imagine.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day seven)

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4)

In the initial chapters of 2 Samuel David lives out these verses from Ecclesiastes.  We began with passionate mourning of Saul’s death, and now, we see David celebrate enthusiastically.  In 2 Samuel 6 David leaps and whirls before the Lord because the Lord God above has been good to them.  It is the perfect time for such a response.

I pray that we can celebrate like David when God provides miraculous gifts.  When you see God work don’t hold back.  Shout for joy, blast trumpets in celebration, dance with excitement, and bless the Lord with your praise.  It is the perfect time for such a response.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day six)

And David danced before the Lord with all his might. 2 Samuel 6:14

I imagine we would have felt a little uncomfortable with David’s dance, but consider something with me for a moment. What if dancing is the most whole expression of worship. The Lord commanded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Dt. 6:4) As westerners we tend to emphasize our mind (we pride ourselves in our theologically rich hymns) and affections in worship, but we fall short of the whole self. Not so with dancing; dancing can express heart, soul, and might.

So, maybe dignified worship is not worship’s fullest form, maybe dancing (while singing of course) is. This week when Kenyan women (in greet need) received buckets of non-perishable food, they sang…and danced unto the Lord. It’s easy to chalk that up as cultural, and maybe so, but what if dancing is more than cultural.

It’s just a thought, a consideration.

So, when’s the last time you worshipped with all your might? If you had, you probably could not have helped yourself; you probably would have danced…a little; maybe just the slightest shuffle. 🙂

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day five)

vs 20 Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!”

A strong word/warning to parents and grandparents in this passage- our children are watching and learning from our actions and attitudes.  We don’t have to wonder where this perspective from Michal comes from.  She saw it with her father, king Saul. Many times Saul chose his own reputation and image ahead of obedience and devotion to God.  Michal basically is calling out David for “conduct unbecoming of a king”.  She is more concerned about the image of the king than bringing glory to God.  David was not. We have opportunities to communicate those same values and priorities many times a day, not just in worship services. I pray our children (and others) see in us and begin to learn for themselves that devotion and obedience to God are greater than anything else.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day four)

For 20 years, the Ark of God had been at Kiriath-jearim.  It had been captured by the Philistines in battle and then returned when calamity overcame them.  A similar experience occurred with the transport of the Ark and it was diverted to obscurity.  Abinadab was set apart and consecrated to take care of the Ark and the symbol of God’s presence among His people disappeared from public life.

Israel had sought their own way rather than God’s and lost the Ark in battle.  Then, rather than follow God, they demanded a king.  Saul was crowned king as a result of their rejection of God.  The Ark was forgotten until David became king.

Now, in chapter 6, David and Israel are soundly reminded that reverence for God means complete obedience to His instructions.  The extended absence of the Ark had not reset the rules regarding its handling.  God expects complete obedience.

Have you ever ‘re-written the commands’ of God’s Word?  It is easy to adjust God’s ways to be convenient for us…but not without consequence.  Remember…to love God is to obey Him!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day three)

“The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.”

There is compelling scholarship suggesting that Obed-Edom was actually a Philistine—his byname “the Gittite” perhaps deriving from the name of the Philistine town of Gath. What if God is close to and has quite a vibrant life with the people you have concluded don’t know about, think about, or care about God the way you do? The old joke is that Baptists and Church of Christ folks will be surprised to find each other in heaven. If anything, God’s astonishing accessibility to people can, if we will let it, lead us to preach repentance like Jesus did when he proclaimed that the kingdom of God is near.