Worship, War, and Wisdom: Church Planting Lessons From Davidনমুনা

To implore is to earnestly ask, beg, and plead. It’s not enough to say that David asked. His prayers often came out as pleads with God from many different angles. He asked God relentlessly for things that we might even consider inappropriate requests.

I grew up in the Midwest, where there’s an unwritten rule: never ask. Don’t put someone in the awkward position of having to say yes. Don’t impose. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, or just go without, but never ask. It is so deeply ingrained in me that it’s even hard for me to ask God for things, much less people. If I do ask the Lord, I can feel uncertain, trying to always be sure that I’m asking for something according to His will.

David was confronted with the real terror of being pursued, and he did not pray polite prayers. With unabashed furor, he angrily begged God to break the teeth of his enemies and starve their children. Many times he begged God for protection and healing. He asked for favor, direction, wisdom, and forgiveness; peace, prosperity, victory, and strength. He did not hesitate to ask God fervently for anything at any time.

I don’t know how I feel about some of David’s prayers, but I know this. He boldly approached the throne of God, like a small child who demands whatever they need from their parents because they have total confidence in the relationship. God is a good father and he can grant or deny any heartfelt request because He knows what is best for us.

Like David, we should not hold back, but bring our most extreme needs before Him and fervently implore him. Even in the asking, God can work in us, adjusting our perception and revealing what we should do next. In His sovereignty, He may miraculously grant our petition. So ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking, just like David did.