Spying on David

Tim Franklin
Freedom Christian Center


“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said...” 2 Samuel 7:18

The sound of these words, are so intriguing and at the same time, so humbling. To read any further makes me feel like I am almost spying on King David. Yet his actions are so deliberate and purposeful that I cannot just let him slip by. I must see where he goes. I must hear his conversations.

Oh, to live a life of prayer so natural, so communal before God, that others are drawn to follow, that they might hear the words of my heart before the Living God. Some would say it is an art to pray as David prays following this opening line. David was so incredibly humbled, by the goodness of God, that his prayers came dancing off his lips, driven by the song in his heart.

“Who am I Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” Now there is the voice of a man who is fully aware of the goodness of the Lord. He evidently feels he is getting something that he does not deserve. And, he is obviously overwhelmed by the kindness of the Lord―to him and to his family. David is experiencing gratitude as he comes in and sits before the Lord. He is like a playful child that wants to talk. He wants to be thankful. He wants to be appreciative. He wants to give back to the Blesser. The only words he can find in the midst of all the goodness of the Lord is, “Your name will be magnified forever!”

A house of prayer, a person of prayer, a church of prayer will have to begin at the place of humility before God that comes from having seen how much He has freely given us. It is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance. It is the mercy and goodness of the Lord that leads to humility that results in gratitude.

David was honoring God by going in to sit before him. Some of our greatest connections with God will happen when we just come and sit. You can sit and talk or you can just sit. There is no pressure to perform. Just an invitation to be yourself before your Father.

More followers of Christ would find greater joy in Father God if they just paused to remember how good He has been to them. He is faithful to His Word. His promises endure forever. My future destiny and heritage are destined to be great by the word of His mouth.

Oh Lord, my Lord, you have been kind to me. And to my sons!

Unity

Tony Hauck

Church on the Rock - Melbourne

I have really worked and prayed for unity among pastors and churches in our city. I believe it’s a huge deal to God. If fact, I think it’s a prerequisite to getting many of the things we’re asking for; things God won’t give to us as individuals. Things we have to come to Him together to get. Let me attempt to justify my belief biblically. Consider Psalm 133.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! {2} It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. {3} It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing; Life forevermore."

We begin with the prerequisite: unity, and end with what we want: God’s commanded blessing. Note that we’re to dwell together in unity. I think that implies substantially more than coming together occasionally for big meetings. But look at the picture God paints twice in between the action and the result.

First the anointing oil poured on Aaron’s head that runs down to collect at the hem of his priestly garments. The New Testament says that now we’re God’s priests. Ephesians 4 describes the church as a body knit together with Christ as the head. There is enough anointing to heal a sick woman who touches the hem, the lowest position in the body. Then the dew that collects on Mount Hermon and pools together as it runs down to become the Jordan river. Jesus said in John 7 that we’d have rivers of living water flowing out of us.

So why don’t we see the manifestations of the Kingdom we’ve been asking for? The problem isn’t a lack of anointing. All the anointing the church is ever going to have has already been poured out on the head, Jesus, who dwells in us (Col 1:27). Maybe the problem is a lack of connection. How can anointing flow down from the head to the body if the body is dismembered? How can we have a river if we each hoard our own little stream? We know how important it is to stay connected to Jesus, but we may have underestimated how important it is that we stay connected to each other.