Dealing with life 1 prayer at a time.

1 Samuel 30:1-8a

Every day we have issues come into our lives that we need to deal with. Some are very common and others, perhaps once in a life time issues. Regardless of their magnitude, quite often, my first instinct is to try and figure out what I need to do, how to solve the problem or resolve the issue. I consider myself a fairly intelligent man and possessing some degree of common sense. But there have been times—and there will be more—when life deals us days that no amount of intelligence or common sense will get us through.

David had one of those days. He had just returned home after being rejected by the Philistines and found his entire town and everything he and his army loved taken captive by the Amalekites. He and his men are devastated to have lost all the people they love as well as everything they owned. They are grief stricken—and mad. The men are blaming David for this tragedy and are ready to kill him.

Now for me, the answer to this situation would have seemed very clear—pick up your swords and get our people back. Do whatever it takes to stop the men from killing me and return our goods to our possession. But David does what all of us should do when we are faced with a dilemma—PRAY.

In 1 Samuel 30:8a, scripture tells us “And David inquired of the Lord”. He prayed. He knew that no matter how good his intentions, no matter how right his cause, if God was not directing his actions, he was not in Gods will and would most likely fail.

Why is this such a hard lesson for most men to learn? We have this “I can fix this” gene that needs to be replaced with a “Pray first” gene. God is always awake, always listening and always ready to direct our paths—if we will just call on His name and seek His wisdom.

Lord, help me to be a man who will fall to his knees before jumping to any conclusions on how to handle life’s many issues. Amen – Steve Schmidt serves full-time at America’s Keswick and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 60-62; Acts 22

Quote of the day: I can hardly recollect a single plan of mine, of which I have not since seen reason to be satisfied, that had it taken place in season and circumstance just as I proposed, it would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin; or at least it would have deprived me of the greater good the Lord had designed for me. We judge of things by their present appearances, but the Lord sees them in their consequences, if we could do so likewise we should be perfectly of His mind; but as we cannot, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is spoken of as one of his heaviest judgments, when He gives any person or people up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk after their own counsels. John Newton

Verse to Memorize: Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. Troubles and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight. Psalm 119:142-143