The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading–1 Samuel 24 (day three)

But David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Saul wept nostalgic tears.  The golden times of David’s service in Saul’s household—those were the days.  Too bad he didn’t understand: The past is a good teacher, but it’s a terrible coach.  It can remind us where we’ve been, but it can’t urge us on in the direction we must go.  The future’s coming, and only those who make peace with the present will live well in that future.  Does that mean satisfaction with the present?  Hardly.  It means understanding that you start with what you’ve got, not with what you wish you had.  David’s present wasn’t a good one, but it was what he had.  Saul withdrew into his memories. David went up to the stronghold.  That wasn’t his future, but it’s how he would get there.

Re:Verse reading–1 Samuel 24 (day two)

“Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.” vs. 20

…and the next day David became the King of all Israel. Nope, that’s not how it happened. David’s obedience did not produce the immediate effect that most of us would expect. In fact it would be some time before David ruled over a united Kingdom. David was not in it for his own glory, rather he clearly discerned the timing was in God’s hands. Isn’t that an incredible lesson? If we hear from the Lord, our expectation needs to be that he will see us through on his timing alone. Every moment until then is about preparation for the task. Submit your calendar to God today.

Re:Verse reading–1 Samuel 24 (day one) 

” ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed.’  So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul.”–v 6-7

It seemed obvious to 99% of the people in that cave.  This was God’s doing!  God’s will!  Let’s kill Saul and thank God for giving us this miraculous opportunity.

David saw deeper.  He believed the promise of God to someday make him King, but he also felt compelled to honor/respect the anointing that God placed on Saul’s life.  Opportunity is not permission.  Those who know God’s promises must also know the patience to wait on the Lord.

“My time is not yet here”, Jesus told His brothers.  How did he know this?  By time with God’s word and time with God waiting Jesus came to understand the will of God.

“All who are led by the Spirit, these are the sons.”–Romans 8:14

Re:Verse reading— 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 30-42 (day seven)

“For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.”
-1 Samuel 20:31

Saul had a plan for his son.  After Saul built the kingdom of Israel for himself, he imagined his own legacy solidifying by his son becoming a powerful ruler.  Their family name would be established forever.  It is a plan that most every parent comes up with for their growing children.  A plan that puts them in the strongest possible position to be safe, strong, and wealthy.  We truly want our children to climb to the top of the ladder and have more than we ever dreamed of.

Our problem is that we often dream like Saul in worldly definitions of success that only happen at the expense of others.  Our hope of safety, strength, and wealth for our children often look no different than the Joneses down the street.  These worldly expectations will only hinder our children.  Let us pray for and imagine a different future where our hopes for our children are holy.  The only way to plan for our children’s future is to hand them and their potential over to God.  God is the only one who can see into a distant future and prepare them to be genuinely successful.

Re:Verse reading— 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 30-42 (day five)

“What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”1 Samuel 20:1

I believe that David knew the answers to the questions, but he wanted/trusted Jonathan to tell him the truth. He lived in accountability with Jonathan. Who do you trust to enough to ask the hard questions of you? (money, motives, purity, honesty, sin, temptation) Who hears your completely honest responses? Just the Lord? Is that a conversation that only happens in your prayer closet? A mentor? A close friend of the same gender? A spouse? A parent? There’s something humbling and freeing about hearing your own voice ask and answer the questions. Humility and freedom- two qualities of a heart that belongs to God. Accountability is a part of God’s provision for discipleship and holiness. Will you look for a “trusted truth-teller”?  Will you ask and answer the tough questions with them?

Re:Verse reading— 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 30-42 (day four)

He does it again…Saul has his spear and he puts another hole in his wall!  Here he is telling Jonathan of his concern about Jonathan succeeding him on the throne and he hurls a spear at his own son to pin him to the wall.  Who is Saul really trying to protect here?  Saul is so full of selfish pride that he is blinded to his own sinful behavior.

Is there a sin in your life that is a blind spot to you?  David wrote about these hidden sins.  In Psalm 19:12-13, he asks God to keep him from hidden faults and presumptuous sins.  In our lives, God does that through the work of the Holy Spirit.  In Psalm 139:23-24, David again asks God to search his heart and find the bad stuff.  The work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification is a great blessing.  For Saul, God had removed His Spirit.  For us, we have the promise of His everlasting presence.

Re:Verse reading— 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 30-42 (day three)

Then they kissed each other and wept together. 

Let’s face it, it’s more fun to argue about whether Jonathan and David were gay than actually to pursue the intimate friendships that will show the love of Christ to a world that’s lost its way.  While we’re at it, though, let’s all beware the temptation to read back into the scriptures the controversy du jour.  To identify homoerotic overtones in the friendship of these men is to ignore the ancient social conventions that made room for the kind of demonstrative affection that is alien to our thinking save in sexualized settings.  They were not lovers, they were friends.  We used to know what that means.  And we can again.  But it will take work—deeper than occasional girls’ nights out, higher than gym time with the brahs.  Iron won’t sharpen itself.

Re:Verse reading— 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 30-42 (day two)  ^“Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” 20:8

Only a righteous man could make such a statement. David knew the stakes and what he was asking of Jonathan. The anointing that David received was not a free pass to an easy life, and it was not a get out of sin card either. David was not perfect, but he was righteous. David was putting Jonathan in an almost impossible position, so his request had to come from a place of humility. God still asks his chosen to endure trials. He still anoints men and women to be instruments of his peace. Are you submitted to that call, and willing to endure whatever that may mean?