What other biblical instances show leaders seeking God's counsel before acting? Seeing the Pattern: 1 Chronicles 14:10 “So David inquired of God, ‘Should I pursue the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ ‘Go,’ replied the LORD, ‘for I will deliver them into your hand.’” David’s reflex was to ask before he acted—and God answered. Scripture repeats this rhythm in many other leaders’ lives. Old-Testament Leaders Who Stopped to Ask • Moses – Exodus 33:15: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” • Moses – Numbers 27:5: “So Moses brought their case before the LORD.” • Joshua – Joshua 7:6-9 after the defeat at Ai, he “fell facedown” and sought the LORD for an explanation. • Gideon – Judges 6:36-37: Gideon laid out the fleece twice to confirm God’s direction. • Samuel – 1 Samuel 8:6: displeased by Israel’s request for a king, “Samuel prayed to the LORD.” • David – 1 Samuel 23:2; 30:8; 2 Samuel 2:1; 5:19 repeat the same pattern seen in 1 Chronicles 14. • Jehoshaphat – 2 Chronicles 20:3-12: “Jehoshaphat resolved to seek the LORD… ‘We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.’” • Hezekiah – 2 Kings 19:14-20: he spread Sennacherib’s letter “before the LORD” and prayed for deliverance. • Ezra – Ezra 8:21-23: proclaimed a fast “that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey.” • Nehemiah – Nehemiah 2:4: when the king asked his request, “I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.” • Daniel – Daniel 2:17-19: sought mercy “from the God of heaven concerning this mystery,” and God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. New-Testament Echoes of the Same Heart • The apostles – Acts 1:24-26: “And they prayed, ‘Lord, You know everyone’s heart…’” before choosing Matthias. • The Antioch church – Acts 13:2-3: worshiped, fasted, and listened to the Holy Spirit before sending Barnabas and Saul. • Paul – Acts 16:6-10: repeatedly redirected by the Spirit until the “Macedonian call” became clear. What We Learn from These Examples • Seeking comes before acting; waiting on God never delays His plans. • God answers through Scripture, prayer, circumstance, and the inner witness of His Spirit. • Leaders who pause to inquire spare themselves and their people needless trouble (contrast Joshua 9:14, where they “did not inquire of the LORD” and were deceived). • Each story reinforces the same truth Psalm 32:8 voices: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.” |
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