Part #8 – Worship Before You Ever See It
2 Samuel 7:18-29, “Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”
Nathan just walked out the door after the covenant was delivered. God promised David an eternal throne, a son who would build the temple, and a kingdom that would never end. The biggest promise ever given to a man outside of Abraham was just dropped in his lap. David goes inside, alone, and sits down before the Lord. And then he opens his mouth and the first thing that comes out is, “Who am I?”
That one question tells you everything about why God chose this man. David did not respond to a massive promise by figuring out how to use it. He responded by getting low. He sat in the presence of God and started worshipping for things that would not be fulfilled for a thousand years. Most of the covenant pointed all the way to Christ. David would never see most of it with his own eyes. And he worshipped anyway.
There is a pattern in this chapter that every believer has to learn. The presence of God came before the promise of God. The ark went into Jerusalem before the covenant ever showed up. And worship has to come before vision in your life too. You have to learn to thank God for things you have not yet seen, in seasons where nothing has been fulfilled yet. The believer who waits to worship until the promise is in his hand will never get the promise at all.
Here are seven things from David’s prayer that every believer needs to learn how to do.
- Learning to Sit Still in the Presence of God
The very first thing David does is sit. “Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord” (2 Samuel 7:18).
He did not pace or run his mouth. He sat down. For a lot of Christians, this is the hardest spiritual discipline there is. We struggle to just be still and quiet in front of God with no agenda.
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Stillness is where you find out who He is. The noise of life keeps you from hearing Him. You will never grow in the Lord at the speed you want to grow until you learn how to sit down, shut your mouth, and just be in His presence. Try it this week. Ten minutes with no phone, no music, no list of things to ask for. You will find out fast how loud the inside of your own head is, and you will start to understand why David went in alone before he said one word.
2. Answering Big Promises With Small Words About Yourself
The first thing out of David’s mouth in front of God is, “Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Samuel 7:18).
The bigger the promise, the smaller David’s view of himself got. He did not say “thank you Lord, I have earned this.” He did not say “finally, after all I have been through.” He said who am I that you would do this for me.
Pride swells up the moment something good happens to you. Humility stays low even when God is exalting you. James wrote, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). The bigger the blessing in your life, the smaller you should be talking about yourself. The minute you start crediting yourself for what God did, the grace that brought you here starts to dry up.
3. Thanking God for What He Has Not Done Yet
Read David’s prayer carefully. “Thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come” (2 Samuel 7:19). David is thanking God for things that have not happened.
We thank God after He does it, but David thanked God before He did it. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Praise Him in the middle of the waiting. If He said it, it is going to happen, and you can start thanking Him right now.
4. Speaking Back to God Who He Is
Look at the middle of David’s prayer. He does not just thank God for the promise. He starts rehearsing who God is. “Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22).
He talks about how God redeemed Israel out of Egypt, how God drove out the nations, how God established His people forever.
This is something every believer needs to do in his prayer life. Start speaking back to God who He is. Not because He needs to be reminded, but because you do. When you start declaring God’s character out loud in front of Him, your faith gets bigger, and problems get smaller. The Psalms are full of this. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). David made his soul remember on purpose. Get in the habit of speaking back to God what you know about Him. It is one of the fastest ways to grow your faith.
5. Praying His Promises Back to Him
Watch how David closes his prayer. “Therefore now, Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said” (2 Samuel 7:25). David takes the exact promise God just gave him and prays it right back to God. He is holding God to His own word.
This is one of the most powerful kinds of prayer there is. Find the promises in the Bible and pray them right back to God. “Lord, you said in Philippians 4:19, my God shall supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Do as thou hast said.”
Jesus told us, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). When you pray God’s word back to God, you are not begging for something He might not want to give. You are asking Him to do what He has already said He would do. That is faith with the safety on, and it works every time.
6. Letting Worship Be the Posture That Carries Vision
Look at the order of the last two chapters. The ark came into Jerusalem in chapter 6. The covenant came in chapter 7. The presence of God showed up before the promise ever did. David’s vision for the future was not given to him on a battlefield or in a war room. It was given to him in the place of worship.
If you want to hear from God about your future, your job, your family, your ministry, the answer is not more planning. The answer is more worship. You put His presence first, and the vision will come. The believer who goes after vision before he goes after God ends up with a plan and no power. The believer who goes after God first ends up with both.
David walked into that room with the biggest promise ever given to a king and laid it back down at God’s feet. And the same God who gave him that covenant is still building it three thousand years later through the throne of Christ.
The temptation is to chase those promises with both hands until you grab them. The right move is to sit down before the Lord like David did and worship Him for them before they ever come to pass. Thank Him for what He has not done yet. Tell Him who He is. Pray His own words back to Him. The vision will come. The promise will come. But it has to find you on your knees, not on your feet.
