What a wonderful God-filled day when you sit down to read a passage in the bible and you get hooked and stuck on one verse out of seven. Oky I know that is not a massive amount of verses but in the OT one verse has 2-3 sentences! haha Clarification= 2 Samuel 2:1-7. This is after the death of Saul when David is about to make his next move.
Verse one is the verse I got stuck on: "In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. 'Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?' he asked.
The Lord said, 'Go up.'
David asked, 'Where shall I go?'
'To Hebron,' the Lord answered.
What can you get out of this one verse. Its simply a conversation to God. That's it! I think we can learn something from this simple conversation.
David asks God specific questions that require immediate action! The first question: Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah? provides two answer choices from God. Yes=action, move to Judah No=wait here there is something better where you are now or Judah is not safe.
Asking God specific questions mean you are not afraid of what He has planned for you. (True surrender I guess) If you are afraid to ask God specific questions then you are too comfortable in your current life-style and you don't want to be changed. How else will you know God's will for your life if you don't ask God specifics about little actions?
Yet when I stop to think of what specific questions I want to ask God I thought of myself as talking to a magic 8 ball. Questions like: will I get into Graduate school? Does this guy like me? Questions that ask if I will get something. Im not asking questions the lead to action. Questions I think God wants us to ask might include: should I give to this person? Do you want me to join this mission team? Should I serve here? Should I take this job offer even if it requires moving? These questions require action and faith! Was it safe for David to return to Judah? David didn't know! Even though Saul was dead, he still had followers who knew Saul wanted to kill David. I applaud David for asking God first and then not hesitating and acting immediately. How often do we stop and calculate our funds to determine how much we can give without hurting ourselves? How often do we weigh pros and cons about serving? God desires that you ask Him specific questions and acting on that answer because then you are taking a step in faith. You are truly handing over your personal plans and your worries by asking God specifically where He wants you. You cant insert your ideas if God gives you specific answers to questions. Broad questions allow us to control His plan.
Sometimes we pray selfishly. We don't put the prayer where it needs to be as you have mentioned. We aren't asking for God to give us what we need to follow his plan, but rather what we want in OUR plans. I think you are right in that we need to change the way we talk to God.
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