Go you still going to prayer meetings ?

"And it came to pass in the spring of the year, when the kings went to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel ; And they have destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 11: 1).

Started there as the dissolution of the divine order : David began sending others to battle while staying at home. He was as if he thought he had fought long enough ; He had won enough victories. Maybe he just wanted to stop and smell the roses for a while.

I can certainly identify with what David must have felt. I had moments in my life where I was wondering, "God, how long should I carry that weight ? I've been fighting for so long. Can not I just enjoy things for a season ?"

This is a common struggle between the people of God, especially here in America. I can not stop thinking about how we have largely left vacant at the prayer meeting and personal work of God - personal holiness ; Personal evangelism. We have given our ten or twenty dollars a month to support the few missionary families we have sent, which have become our contribution to the work of God. Meanwhile, we stopped to go to the prayer meeting. We chose an easier way, saying, "God, You blessed us and won wonderful victories for us. Your name is still in the spotlight ; Some voices still speak for you, so I think I will stay at home. I'm just going to rest a bit because I've been working hard all day. Why do I need to go out and pray ?" We assumed that someone else would somehow carry the fight before. Yet, once we left the prayer meeting, our decline began.

The Bible continues to tell us what happened after David chose to stay at home instead of fighting. "And it came to pass one evening that David arose from his bed, and went to the roof of the king's house. And from the roof (or today I might say : "And from the Internet"), he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to see" (2 Samuel 11: 2).

David eventually ended up giving in to lust and self-indulgence - another picture of what is going on nowadays.

Carter Conlon