...so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."
II Samuel 5:19
I'm starting to see why when we pray for certain things, for our own gain, we loose patience with God. There are so many incredible stories of brothers who pray, and God answers them immediately. I wonder if this is really the case? Did God really answer David right away or not? It appears that way, because we don't read what all went into Davids inquiry of the Lord.
If I'm not mistaken, he had to cleanse himself, put on a nifty robe, slip on a breastplate and funky hat. After that, he most likely had to search out for the appropriate animals to sacrifice, preform the sacrifice and give his contribution to the temple as well. After all of this, he probably had to talk to some of the elders and priests about the situation and have them also inquire of God, as well. By the sounds of it, it probably was at least a day of focusing on God, probably some fasting, reading of scripture and praising of God.
Or, we all know David was a man after God's heart, maybe God did answer him right away?
