The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_samuel/23.htm

There was a town in Israel named Keilah, located southwest of Bethlehem and northwest of Hebron. And word came to David that the town was under attack by the Philistines. So David prayed, and God told him to go and save the town, that he would be successful in defeating the Philistines, so David and his army went and fought the Philistines.

But word came to Saul that David was in Keilah, so Saul proceeded to Keilah to kill David. And here is the first lesson. Saul said, “God has delivered him (David) into my hand.” But did he? Certainly not. Why did Saul say that then? Saul was still relying on his own judgment. He didn’t pray to God and ask God if he should seek David, and he didn’t pray to ask God if He would deliver David to him. David prayed before attacking the Philistines and was told outright that he would be successful. Saul was still relying on himself, assuming God was on his side. And in fact, Saul was probably in denial that God was no longer with him. i know when I sin, and yes, that is on a daily basis, I begin to doubt myself. I begin to wonder if I’ve ruined my own Salvation. I don’t dismiss my own sin and assume God is still on my side. Jesus said, “Many will call My Name, and I will say, get away, I never knew you!” (paraphriasing). This means many thing they are Christian, they thing they are doing the right things, but indeed they are not. They are being mislead by dishonest or uneducated pastors, or they are lying to themselves.

And when David heard that Saul was coming, being the faithful servant he was, he prayed against and asked God if Saul would defeat him, and God said, “Yes”.

Wait a minute! Why was God letting David fall into Saul’s hands? How can this be?

God knows all. I stand on that phrase. When God asked Adam, after he sinned, “Where are you?”, God knew exactly where Adam was, the questions was really, “Why are you hiding?” So since God knows all, was God actually giving protection to David and others, or was He simply relaying prophesy?

I went back and reviewed Joshua Chapter 7, when Joshua’s army was defeated at Ai. And there is no scripture that documents Joshua praying to God before they attacked. And we know Joshua and his Army failed because Achan had taken spoil from Jericho that was unauthorized. Had Joshua prayed to God, would God have told him, “Do not go against Ai because they will defeat you.”, or would God tell him, “Do not go against Ai because one of the children of Israel has sinned.” I guess we’ll never know, but I’m starting to think that prayer to God isn’t so much about defeat or victory, it is God’s warning to us about what the future holds.

I can pray for a new car all day long, but I truly don’t believe I will wake up to find one in the driveway. Maybe if I pray and ask God, “Should I buy a new car?”, then He might answer, “Yes, I’ll help” or “No, your car will suffice”, so maybe when these Bible characters pray to God, it isn’t His permission or His judgment He is rendering, perhaps it’s just His prophesy as to what the outcome will be. And there again, if God tells you you will be successful, wouldn’t you have a bit more faith, a bit more bravery? But here I am, rambling again. I just wonder why God told David that Saul was take him when God fully had the ability to delivery Saul into David’s hand. Then again, it didn’t make sense until later when God allowed Joseph’s brothers to throw him into a pit, then sell him. Sometimes God’s Will doesn’t make sense at the time, and I’m guessing a lot of it will not be known until we get to Heaven and God explains Himself. That is why we have faith, to know that God is loving, that God wants what is best for us, and that our lives play out for the best, providing we are His children and maintain a close relationship with Him.

Then we read on where the people of the Wilderness of Ziph, where David was hiding, came to Saul and ratted David out. So Saul headed to David’s hiding place, but while enroute, a messenger came and told Saul that the Philistines were invading again, so Saul had to abandon his pursuit of David and reroute to fight the Philistines. And if that doesn’t have God’s Will written all over it, I don’t know what does.

And in Psalm 54, https://biblehub.com/nkjv/psalms/54.htm, David writes this psalm when he is hiding in the Wilderness of Ziph, and the people are telling Saul where David is hiding.