What Can We Learn from David’s Prayer?
2 Samuel 7:18-29
LIFE OF DAVID
Before we get to the prayer and the main passage we are going to look at this morning, I want to remind you a little of the life of the person we will be looking at. The prayer in 2 Samuel 7 is not an isolated prayer, but one that comes in the life of David at a very special time.
We first meet David when he is a young man in 1 Samuel chapter 16. He is a shepherd boy living with his family in Bethlehem. The Lord sends the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint/chose the next king over Israel. Saul, their current king, had been rejected as king (1 Samuel 15) and God was selecting the new man who would lead His people. God passes over the seven brothers of David and chooses Him as the next king. David ends up in the service of King Saul and became an armor bearer and also soothed the king with his harp. David then faced off against the giant Goliath and killed him in battle and rallied the troops to a victory over the Philistines… and remember… he is still a young man. David and King Saul’s son, Jonathan, become fast friends and Jonathan even accepts that one day David would be the King over Israel. David soon finds himself not in the good graces of King Saul who has become increasingly jealous (1 Samuel 18) over David’s fame and increased influence. Saul tries to kill David several times and David spends time on the run. David continues to mount military victories for God’s people, but still must stay away from Saul. At the end of 1 Samuel, King Saul and his son Jonathan die in battle with the Philistines. After a short civil war, David is crowned King over Israel (2 Samuel 5) and makes his capitol Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5-6).
We then find ourselves in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and God sends Nathan the Prophet to David to give him a message. God says to David, “I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. "’The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever’” (2 Samuel 7:8-16).
It is after this message from the Lord that we have the prayer of David that we will be looking at today. As you can see, David’s life had been full of ups and downs. David had come from the fields being a shepherd to the sheep to becoming King of Israel, the shepherd of God’s people. David had been faithful to God. Now let’s look at David’s response to God and see what we can learn about prayer from him in this passage.
READ 2 SAMUEL 7:18-29
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD? 20 "What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel-- the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God. 25 "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ’The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ’I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
I believe that we can learn four lessons from the prayer of David. These four lessons are quite appropriate for your prayer life and mine as well.
I. GOD is in the Center
One of the first things I notice about David’s prayer is that David prays to God and his prayer is all about God. God is the target. God is the center. I do not want to be too basic here, but I want you to know that for a Christian who holds the Bible as the sole authority, we pray to God… and that is all. Our Heavenly Father is the recipient of our prayers, just as Jesus showed us in the Model Prayer (Matthew 6, Luke 11). The example from Scripture… and from our prayer here in 2 Samuel 7, is that we pray to God. David addresses God as Lord Yahweh (hwIhy> yn"Üdoa). The God that we pray to is the only true God. The God that we pray to is the Creator. The God that we pray to is the Almighty. He is at the center of our prayers. He is the One to whom we address our prayers.
We live in a world where people are encouraged to pray to angels, saints, yourself, your ancestors, your dead goldfish, or anything else that might have some sway in helping in this life. Proper Christian prayer is to our Heavenly Father.
ILLUSTRATION… Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers
Craig Brian Larson, Baker Books, p. 166.
Ruth Ryan, wife of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, had one moment she looked forward to in every one of her husband’s games. In Covering Home, she writes:
It probably happened the first time on the high-school baseball diamond in Alvin, Texas, in the mid- 1960s. Then it happened repeatedly for three decades after that. Inevitably, sometime during a game, Nolan would pop up out of the dugout and scan the stands behind home plate, looking for me. He would find my face and grin at me, maybe snapping his head up in a quick nod as if to say, There you are; I’m glad. I’d wave and flash him a smile. Then he’d duck under the roof and turn back to the game. It was a simple moment, never noted in record books or career summaries. But of all the moments in all the games, it was the one most important to me.
Those who love us long for us to acknowledge them, to give them our attention. This is true not only in marriage and family, but in our relationship with God. Throughout our days, in both the big and small moments, God enjoys it when we "step out of the dugout" and smile in his direction.
David did this in his prayer… God was receiving his sole attention. God was the target. God was the only one David was talking to… God had David’s undivided attention. David kept God at the center. In our prayers, we need to make sure that we are doing the same. Let us keep God and God alone at the center of our prayers. Let us keep all our attention on Him and give Him what He deserves.
II. David SITs before God
The second thing I noticed about David was not so much what he said in his prayer, we will certainly get to that, but I noticed what he did before he prayed. Verse 18 tells us that David went in and “sat before the Lord.” I first noticed the place that David must have been in physically. 2 Samuel 6 records David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and setting it in the Tabernacle. Verse 18 tells us that David goes in before the Lord, that is, into the Tabernacle where the Ark was, which was the token of God’s presence. David sat in the presence of God. We of course know that you can pray anywhere you like, but we should also realize that wherever we pray, we must realize that we are coming into the presence of God.
Also, I noticed the posture he put himself into. Not only was he “before the Lord,” but he “sat” before the Lord. I believe the passage is describing his physical body. It denotes the posture of his body. For some reason, when I look at David’s posture, I think of kids and I think of dinner. Let me explain to you what I mean.
First, I think about kids. There you are… you have three kids running around the living room… screeching and having a great time… and it just gets on your last nerve. You look at the kids and what do you say? “Sit down!” The flop their little sugar energized selves down and they start poking each other… but they are sitting. To sit, for a kid, means that you are submitting to your parents’ or adults’ will. No kid will voluntarily sit. David sat before the Lord because he was being humble and his body was showing this as well as his spirit.
Second, I think about dinner. I think about a table set with plates and napkins. I think of a table set with food and drink. Yet, what really makes it a dinner and a wonderful time is the people sitting around the table. Sitting around a dinner table is a great time of fellowship. This type of setting brings closeness. It is why when you meet up with friends, you go to dinner. It is why Thanksgiving is a family centered event in most houses. Sitting with each other brings closeness. I believe it was the same for David. Not only was he humbling himself before the Lord, but he was communicating to God that he wanted closeness and wasn’t in a hurry when speaking with Him. The sitting meant humbleness. The sitting meant deep fellowship.
I believe that in our own prayer lives, we need to adopt the same posture as David. When we pray, let God know with our words, but also with our bodies, that we submit and are humble to Him. When we pray, let God know with our words, but also with our bodies that we aren’t going anywhere and we want to commune and fellowship with Him.
III. God is SOVEREIGN
One of the first things I noticed about David’s prayer is the use of the word: sovereign. In the span of his short prayer, he uses it 7 times and the subject of much of his prayer is the sovereignty of God. Why use that word so much? What is the ‘sovereignty of God’?
To call God ‘sovereign,’ means that God has the right to do as He wishes and nothing external to God will force Him. It means that God does in fact know what is best for us. Isaiah 48:16-19 says, “And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit. 17 This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me."
ILLUSTRATION… Source: Scott Higgins, based on an a Philip Yancey Christianity Today article
One of the more difficult concepts for us to grasp is how God can be said to be in control of his world. Is the author of a play, writing the script of our lives? Or is he a member of the audience, watching us write our own script? Both options seem difficult. The first appears to rob us of our freedom, the second of God’s involvement.
Perhaps a better image is of a chess game between a chess master and a novice. The novice moves his pieces around the board. He follows some basic strategies he has read about in a book. Some of his moves are foolish. The master responds with great expertise and wisdom. His moves are not pre-programmed, but a response to the moves of his opposing player. Without even knowing it, the Master weaves the novice’s moves into his game plan. And of course, the outcome of the game never in doubt.
Perhaps God is the Master and we are the novices. We make our choices freely, sometimes very foolish and harmful choices, but the Master responds with wisdom, reacting in such a way to ensure that our moves are coordinated into his overall strategy. And of course the outcome, a new world, is never in doubt.
David’s life had led him to this point. David had made choices. Saul had made choices. Goliath made one last choice. David lived his life wanting to God’s will and the path had been up and down and smooth and rough. In all things, David recognized that God had been in control the whole time. He had been sovereign.
David thanks God for being sovereign over his family (verses 18-19)
David thanks God for being sovereign over his nation (verses 22-24)
David thanks God for being sovereign and directing his paths (verses 27-29)
David realized God’s place in his life as the Sovereign Ruler. David would submit to God’s will. David would follow the path set by God. David would follow God’s lead.
What place does God have in your life?
Is God Sovereign in your life?
Does God just watch you as you direct your own life… or do you consult Him?
In your prayers… do you pray for His will and not your own?
Is God Sovereign in your life?
Can you see the Hand of God working in your life in the midst of the circumstances?
Do you pray that God would direct your life?
What place does God have in your life?
IV. HE KEEPS HIS PROMISES
The last wonderful thing I noticed about David’s prayer is that He spoke about God and promises quite often. Did you know that the Bible is full of the promises of God? God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation… and that came true. God promised Moses and Joshua that the people of God would occupy the Promised Land… and that came true. God promised David a son who would build the temple… and that came true. God promised that all nations would be blessed through Abraham… and that came true through Jesus Christ. God’s promises also come true in our lives. We have an entire book of promises that God has given us that we can pray about… just as King David did.
ILLUSTRATION… http://www.christianglobe.com/illustrationsTwo/a-z/p/promises_gods.htm
God’s presence -- "I will never leave thee" (Hebrews 13:5)
God’s protection -- "I am thy shield" (Genesis 15:1)
God’s power -- "I will strengthen thee" (Isaiah 41:10)
God’s provision -- "I will help thee" (Isaiah 41:10)
God’s leading -- "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them" (John 10:4)
God’s purposes -- "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil" (Jeremiah 20:11)
God’s rest -- "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)
God’s cleansing -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9)
God’s goodness -- "No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly" (Psalm 84:11)
God’s faithfulness -- "The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake" (1 Samuel 12:22)
God’s guidance -- "The meek will He guide" (Psalm 25:9)
God’s wise plan -- "All things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)
I hope that you see in David’s prayer, especially in verses 25-29, David is reminding God of the promises He has just made to him. David is not telling God what to do, but recounting for himself, and to God, the great things God has done. He is asking God to work in his life in the ways that God has already promised. That is a powerful way to come to God in prayer.
CONCLUSION
I believe this prayer of David is a powerful prayer and holds great lessons for us. If we learn from David’s prayer, we will keep God at the center of our prayers. If we learn from David’s prayer, we will come to Him in humbleness and seeking close fellowship. If we learn from David’s prayer, we will acknowledge and seek His control in our lives. If we learn from David’s prayer, we will rely on God’s promises to lead us.
