One of
the stark contrasts between Saul and David was their obedience. David was obedient
to God and Saul was obedient to his own fears. In 1 Samuel 15:22, God tells
Saul through the prophet Samuel, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” At that
point, God had rejected Saul as king. This was not the first time Saul had
deliberately disobeyed. But it was the last. God did not speak to Saul again.
David on
the other hand was constantly asking God before
he made his plans. His desire was to know and do God’s will, not his own. The
phrase, And David inquired of the LORD, is repeated several times
throughout the chapters covering his life. He sought the Lord with all of his
heart, which is what it means to pray.
The
Hebrew word for “inquire” is sha-al, which means to ask, beg,
inquire, search, or dig. It is used to describe prayer, which is worship,
especially in the book of Psalms. This word combines asking, seeking, and knocking
into one word, sha-al. It is obedience. God invites us to ask Him. When we do,
it pleases the Father for it expresses trust in Him. That is why Jesus
instructed us to “ask and never stop asking, seek and never stop seeking, knock and never
stop knocking…,” Matthew 7:7. This is what it means to worship the
Father in spirit and truth.
David
wrote in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I
seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” In
this one request, David knew that all of his requests would be answered for he
would be seeking after what God desired to give him. He knew that God’s will
would be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what it means to worship the
Father in spirit and truth.
Today,
memorize the verse above, Psalm 27:4, and meditate on it as you pray it
throughout the day.
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