PJP2 PROLOG 160521 PROLOG Focus - 2 Samuel 5:18-25....

Psalm 30:4 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."Sing Praises To The Lord, O you His saints, AND Give Thanks To His Holy Name."....

PJP2 PROLOG POST 160521 - 2 Samuel 5:18-25 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.  And David Inquired of The Lord, 'Shall I go up against the Philistines?  Will You Give them Into my hand?'  AND The Lord Said to David, 'Go Up, For I Will Certainly Give the Philistines Into your hand.'  AND David came to Baal-perazim, AND David defeated them there.  AND he said, 'The Lord Has Broken Through my enemies before me Like A Breaking Flood.'  Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.  And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away. And the Philistines came up Yet Again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.  AND When David Inquired of The Lord, God Said, 'You Shall NOT Go Up; Go Around to their rear, AND come against them Opposite The Balsam Trees.  AND When you Hear The Sound of Marching In The Tops of The Balsam Trees, THEN Rouse yourself, FOR Then The Lord Has Gone Out Before you To Strike Down the army of the Philistines.'  AND David Did As The Lord Commanded him, AND struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer."....

This Passage Of the Word, Select (POWS) encapsulates newly crowned King David of all Israel's first real military campaign against the Israelites nemesis the Philistines.  The Valley of Rephaim Campaign, as The Holy Spirit accounts for her, consisted of two primary battles - (1) The Battle of Baal-perazim (means - 'The Lord Has Broken Through') and (2) Battle of The Balsam Trees.  As I've shared in previous PJP2 PROLOGs et al, I am indeed fascinated by The Battles of The Bible (TBoTB) - I will write a book on TBoTB one day AND to be sure The Valley of Rephaim Campaign (TVORC) will be included.....enough, though, on my marketing my unwritten books. ;)

The Point I hear The Holy Spirit Sharing with me is found in this phrase from these POWS....

"And David Inquired of The Lord".....

The Holy Spirit Records in TVORC account that David Inquired/Prayed for YAHWEH's Guidance in regards to his leading the Army of Israel into battle against the Philistines.  As we well know, David was clearly a Man of Prayer.....we have 150 of his Holy Spirit Inspired Prayers contained in the Book of Psalms.  Those few times David did NOT Inquire for The Lord's Guidance, relying instead on his own human resources.....well, to be frank those times did not turn out to well.

So, The Holy Spirit's Point to us seems pretty straightforward - Consistent with the IF....THEN Guidance He Provides Throughout His Word to us.....for example....

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-25 (ESV).....“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’"....

Thus my Prayer for us today would be - O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father God, Thank You and we Praise You for Your Loving Live within us.  Lord Jesus, Continue to Teach us to Ever First Turn to You in All we Think, Say and Do.  Holy Spirit, Like David May we Ever Inquire of You The Direction You Have Planned for us to Go.  Father God, Thank You for Your Loving and Saving Grace, and Your Light to Give us Sight in Your Way.  Lord, May we Ever Reflect You in Our Lives.  We Lift Up our Voices in Worship.  In Your Name, Lord Jesus, we Call and Pray These Prayers.  Amen/Amen....jaj