Good Morning Friends,
There is a beautiful prayer of David that concludes 2 Samuel 7. It’s a long prayer, running from verse 18 through the end of the chapter, verse 29. Here’s just the first few verses.
"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 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? What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.” (2 Samuel 7:18-21)
One of the things that stands out in David’s prayer is the way he addressed God. You can see it four times in the first four verses of the prayer above … O Sovereign LORD. Altogether, there are eight or nine times that David addresses God that way in the full prayer.
“O Sovereign LORD” is a combination of two Hebrew words: “Adonai Yahweh.” You probably recognize the second word, “Yahweh” as the Hebrew name of God. It’s the name that the Jews refused to say in Jesus’ day because they didn’t want to be guilty of taking it in vain. Even when they translated the Old Testament, like this passage, they wouldn’t even write Yahweh, they would substitute the word LORD for it.
The first of the two words, “Adonai,” comes from a root word that means “to rule.” So, it came to stand for the one who controlled -- whether talking about a man who was in control of something or God who was in control of all things. And that is what David is emphasizing in his prayer -- he was acknowledging that the Lord was in control of his life -- and in control of all things.
David did not believe the position he had risen to as king of Israel came to him because he deserved it or somehow earned it. He knew it was the gift of God. David did not believe that the blessings that he knew as king -- his marvelous palace, his great wealth, his many fine sons, his victories over the enemies of Israel, and the peace he was enjoying … came because he was so great or so righteous. He knew that those, too, were gifts from the Lord who was in control.
So, David prayed this prayer to acknowledge to the Lord that he understood that and to express his gratitude and praise to God for all that God had done for him and his family. He was in awe of the blessings he knew in life.
I know that life can be hard at times for all of us and it does contain some things that are not enjoyable for us. But who among us would admit that we have received no blessings from the Lord during our lives? Only someone totally blind to reality could say that God had given them nothing of value in life. We are all like David -- recipients of God’s rich blessings -- a relationship with Him, forgiveness of our sins, the promise of eternity in heaven, the presence of the Holy Spirit, a church family, a physical family, material provision, and on and on the list could go for each of us.
Have you, like David, stopped to acknowledge to God that you understand that what you have is a gift from Him? Have you expressed your gratitude and praise to God for what He has done for you?
His, by Grace,
Steve
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