30 More Days... Day 14

2Sam. 22:1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2Sam. 22:2 And he said:
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
2Sam. 22:3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
2Sam. 22:4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;...

2Sam. 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

Often when we come to God in prayer we come with an agenda. When we speak to Him it is because we want something. Sometimes we refer to these as “grocery list” or “laundry list” prayers. Okay God, little business meeting here... we need to get this, that and the other thing done, and, oh yeah, we need this list of resources. God doesn’t mind. He likes when we come to Him. He likes when we share what is on our minds and in our hearts. He likes that we bring to Him our cares and concerns, our problems and petitions. In fact, even in our conversations with the people around us, even the people closest to us, we often speak with them because we have some agenda. We want something from them. We value something in them that we want to share. But sometimes, sometimes, we just want to tell them something. We just want to tell them how much they mean to us.

What we see here is a prayer song. David is just going to express who God is and what He has done. It is first and foremost to God. David speaks it to Him. But it is also before other people for them to hear and understand.

David has come to a point in his life, where, after many years of struggle, survival and tough choices, God has brought him to a place of rest. God has brought him through countless years, adventures, dangers and threats. David has seen his share of hardship. Now, things are “looking up”. David is out of danger. Saul no longer chases and threatens. David has been through wars and campaigns. He has survived a couple of rebellions, attempted coups and many other close shaves. Through all this time God has been his foundation, his support, his help, his guide, his hope, the basis of his principles and ethics, his protection, his strength and his deliverer. David just wants to express to God all his love, thankfulness, appreciation and praise for all that God has done. He has no other agenda than just this. He pours out the words of this song he has written directly to the Lord, directly to God who is worthy of all praise.

This probably does not happen enough. I know I find it so hard just to go to God with praise and thanks. It is not long before the needs, concerns, plans and desires of my heart are once more on my lips. It is not long before my thoughts well up and drown out that praise and thanks. As I remember His greatness and consider His power I find myself praying for that power to be made known. As I think about His strength, I find myself praying for Him to bring it to bear in some situation or circumstance. As I think about His power to protect I find myself asking Hism to please continue. There is nothing wrong with this. We need to rest in the Lord and the power of His might, the assurance of His greatness and goodness. Why though can I not just praise and thank. He deserves this. David finds a way to go on for about 50 verses to do nothing but praise and proclaiming the inexpressible about God. His God.

As we come down to the end of the prayer we find that David did have an agenda after all. He spoke these words before the Lord, but he also reveals right at the end that there is another purpose for this song. His agenda?

2Sam. 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles...

He is not just thanking God or praising Him. He also had a purpose to proclaim Him. It is odd though David’s choice of words. He doesn’t just wish to praise, nor to proclaim God to Israel. He also wants God to be proclaimed among the gentiles. He is desperate that the gentiles should know the inexpressible things of God and how very good He is. To know how He stands in such stark contrast to their false gods. This is what praise does and why it is so worthy. As the heart dwells on God and praises Him a proclamation is made that even unbelievers cannot help but see and hear.

Prayer Request
* Pray that God would establish His church in Slovenia and Maribor. That people would see His true greatness. That they would see beyond the bricks and buildings, the rites and rituals to see the importance of honest and true relationship with God. That they would open their hearts to Spiritual things and the gospel. That they would turn to Him. That the spiritual strongholds would be torn down, the spiritual stupor taken away and the fallow ground broken up.