There are 9 times that the Bible says that David inquired of the Lord. Since 9 is often associated with the Holy Spirit (9 gifts of the Spirit & 9 fruit of the Spirit), I took a closer look at David’s inquiries of God and found 9 questions that we should be asking the Holy Spirit.
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#1 If I go into spiritual warfare on behalf of someone else, will you give the enemy into my hand?
Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”
Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”
1 Samuel 23:1-3
This is a fair question to ask because we don’t know if they have spoken something evil over their situation (Proverbs 18:21), if they are walking in unforgiveness (Mark 11:25), or even if they are mistreating their wife (1 Peter 3:7). Is the person that I’m hoping to save from a situation the one who is weaponizing and equipping the enemy?
Maybe they just need someone to add my faith to theirs (Deuteronomy 32:30). The only way to know if we should enter another person’s battle is to ask.
#2 Lord, give me confirmation!
Then David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
1 Samuel 23:4-5
It’s okay to ask God for confirmation. Did I hear God correctly? Did my own emotions or personal feelings get in the way of me hearing God’s voice?
#3 Will the enemy use this situation against me?
Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”
And the Lord said, “He will come down.”
1 Samuel 23:10-11
This is probably the most neglected of the questions in my life. I don’t ask God to reveal the plans of the enemy to me, and I’m often caught off guard by things that I probably should have known.
#4 Am I about to walk into a trap?
Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”
And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”
So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.
And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
1 Samuel 23:12-14
Jesse Duplantis has a wonderful sermon called “Temptation versus Manifestation“. I have watched this sermon many times and will likely watch it many times more. We need to know when the circumstances are aligning themselves to put us directly in the perfect will of God or to pull us out of the perfect will of God.
#5 Will I recover what the enemy stole?
So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.
1 Samuel 30:8-9
Proverbs 6:31 tells us that the enemy will owe us 7 times what he stole, but what, if any, steps do I need to take to recover it? Is there something in my life that is preventing me from receiving what I’m due?
#6 Where should I go?
It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”
And the Lord said to him, “Go up.”
David said, “Where shall I go up?”
And He said, “To Hebron.”
So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
2 Samuel 2:1-2
God is faithful to give us direction when we seek Him.
#7 Will God give God’s enemy into my hand?
Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”
And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
2 Samuel 5:17-21
It’s a whole different battle when we go after the powers and principalities that are coming against the move of God than when we go after something that is coming against us personally.
#8 What is my battle plan for this spiritual warfare?
Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
2 Samuel 5:22-25
The only battle plans that are guaranteed to win are the ones that come from God Himself. I often take for granted that the same warfare strategy that I always use will be equally as effective in each battle. I need to take the time to ask for battle plans.
#9 Why is this happening?
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 Samuel 21:1
I am much too comfortable at asking God why things are happening. LOL! The thing I find most comforting about this scripture is that God answers David. Am I getting a harvest from the seeds I sowed into my own life? Is this here to refine me?
David’s inquiries of God were answered. The same God who was faithful to answer David will be faithful in answering me… and you. We just need to ask. We need to stop taking things for granted and ask. When we ask, we need to be ready to act.
