
#3 Strengthen Me
Part of How Prayer Changes Things Series
July 23, 2022
1 Samuel 30:1-19 (NLT) Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God. Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men. Along the way, they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” David asked him. “I am an Egyptian— the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.” “Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked. The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”
So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back.
1. We all
strength.
1 Samuel 30:3-6 (NLT) When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. …
Two primary reasons we need strength:
๏ We need strength to fully engage in God’s plan and purposes for our lives.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
James 1:22 (NLT) But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
๏ We need strength to resist the enemy and the world.
John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2. God is the
of strength.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV) My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Isaiah 12:2 (NIV) Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
1 Samuel 30:6 (NLT) But David found strength in the Lord his God.
3. God’s strength is
to us.
1 Samuel 30:6 (NLT) But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Four things we learn from David about receiving and experiencing God’s strength:
๏ Remember God’s presence.
1 Samuel 30:7 (NLT) Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
๏ Request God’s wisdom.
1 Samuel 30:8 (NLT) Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” …
James 1:5 (NLT) If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
๏ Receive God’s promises.
1 Samuel 30:8 (NLT) Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you.”
Psalm 119:50 (NLT) Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.
๏ Respond with faith in God’s power.
1 Samuel 30:9 (NLT) So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor.
Matthew 19:26 (NIV) Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
4. God’s strength
us to do more than we could with our own strength.
1 Samuel 30:16-19 (NLT) So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
To save your notes, send them to your email