One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire of His temple. Psalm 27:4

Gazing at His beauty and inquiring in His temple, both aspects of our coming to God are important. One might think soaking prayer is only about developing intimacy with God. However, Psalm 27:4 reveals soaking prayer is not just about developing intimacy with God, although that should be our main motivation; it is also about inquiring of Him about our Kingdom assignment. 

We can never separate our Kingdom assignment or heavenly call (what we are called to do) from our Kingdom identity (who we are) as sons and daughters of God. As we go deeper into intimacy, we discover who we are in Him and what He has called us to do and to be. When John the Baptist saw Jesus by the River Jordan, he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The Lamb of God is Jesus’ Kingdom identity. Taking away the sins of the world is His Kingdom assignment. 

David’s leadership differed from Saul’s in many ways. One difference was in the area of inquiring of the Lord. Saul inquired of God only once or twice throughout his reign as king, while David inquired of God in almost all of his battles. God revealed to him strategies and specific directions which brought him sure victories. David led Israel in possessing the Promise Land.

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.’ 

2 Samuel 5:17-25

We see that David inquired of the Lord twice before he and his army went to battle to face the Philistines. The first time was in verse 19. Despite his skills and a great army, David took time to ask God and never presumed anything. The victory was sure, of course. He declared that God had broken through the Philistines before him like the breakthrough of waters. 

The second time he inquired of the Lord was when the Philistines once again came against Israel in Rephaim. Remember, earlier, David wrought  GREAT VICTORY against the same nation. It would have been easy and logical to go against their opponent at once, considering their advantage, but David took time to inquire of the Lord. This shows his heart to trust God in all things, more than his strength or the size of his army. 

In verses twenty-three and twenty-four, God gave David clear instructions on how to defeat the Philistines. God said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of the marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for them the Lord will have gone out before you strike the army of the Philistine.” 

It takes a listening heart to hear such detailed instructions from the Lord. Such was David’s heart; it was so trained and sensitive to the Voice of God. his heart was always leaning towards Him to listen. He developed this ability to recognize God’s voice through the intimate times he had with Him in the secret place. The instruction God gave him this time around was the complete opposite of the first one. 

The first one was a direct assault. This time around, they had to go behind the enemy and wait for the go signal, the sound of marching on tops of the balsam trees, before they fought their enemies. This is amazing! This time the angelic warriors marching on the balsam trees are with David and his army. To top it all off, God Himself went before them and struck the Philistines.

As we come into deeper intimacy with God, we capture His heart and mind and understand His purposes on earth and the very things He is about to do. He reveals His secrets to His friends because He desires for them to be part of the fulfillment of His plans on earth. The way to co-labor with God is to recognize and hear His voice clearly and obey what He says. Hearing God’s voice is imperative in our stepping into our destiny.  

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