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The Lord of Breakthrough from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

When David became King of Israel, the Philistines became worried, for David had long been a thorn in their side. He had killed their champion giant, Goliath, when he was in his teens. People even sang songs and danced about how many Philistines David had killed in battle, and the Philistines knew about them: 

(1 Samuel 29:5 NKJV)  Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

Yet, the Philistines had killed his predecessor, King Saul, and his sons on the battlefield, so they set out to destroy King David as well. They gathered their army, marched towards Jerusalem, and camped in the Valley of Rephaim. 

(2 Samuel 5:17–19 NKJV)  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."

The name "Rephaim" is associated with a race of giants (Deuteronomy 2:20-21, Joshua 12:4). So when David hears about an army of Philistines in the Valley of Giants, I am sure that it brought back memories of Goliath, the giant Philistine. The Philistines were probably planning to attack Jerusalem, so David inquired of the Lord first thing. "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" The Lord said, "Go," so David went.

When the Lord began pushing me into my own computer business, I would get these extremely tough service calls that were beyond my abilities. But I would pray about it and hear, "Go, and I will go with you." Sure enough, if I would go, then He would allow me to fix it every single time. It was wondrous, miraculous, and spirit-led, supernatural grace in the workplace.

(2 Samuel 5:20–21 NKJV)  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.

David defeated the Philistines, for the Lord broke through their ranks before him. The term "breakthrough" only occurs in two places in the Bible, and they both speak about this event (2 Samuel 5:20, 1 Chronicles 14:11). David called the place "Baal Perazim," which means "the Lord of breaking through," or "bursting forth." The Lord of Breakthrough. I love that. 

(2 Samuel 5:22–25 NKJV)  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.

Again, the Philistines gathered to fight against Israel, and thankfully, David inquired of the Lord and asked for His advice instead of saying, "I've fought these guys before; I can do it just like last time..." For this time, the Lord had a different plan of attack. The first time, the Lord had told David to go face them, but this time, he wanted him to flank them and only attack when he heard the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. 

Never assume you know what the Lord wants when you haven't bothered to ask Him. With David, this was the exact situation he had recently faced and overcome, but the Lord wanted to do something different this time. 

Once, when the Israelites were out of drinking water, the Lord had Moses strike a rock and bring water out of it in Exodus 17:6. Later in Numbers 20:2, the Lord tells Moses to speak to the rock and bring water out of it, but Moses struck it with his staff, and that cost him entering the Promised Land. You can't repeat what worked last time when He wants to do something different, or it will cost you.

In Joshua 9:14, when Israel was entering the Promised Land, some Gibeonites pretended they were from a far country and came to make a peace treaty with them. They carried old wineskins and stale bread and wore old patched sandals on their feet as if they had traveled from afar, but really, they were from a nearby town. The Israelites sampled their goods but did not inquire of the Lord, and they were deceived into signing a peace treaty with their next target. The Lord made sure they honored it, for when King Saul killed them later, the Lord sent a famine on Israel for three years (2 Samuel 21:1).  

When I was playing music in bars to help pay my way through seminary, my carnal mind kept telling me I shouldn't be doing that. What will people think? But I would pray about quitting music, and He would say "No." So I wrote, "Should I leave the band?" on a piece of paper, folded it and placed it in my pocket, and had my pastor pray over it with me, and he said, "No, not at this time." Soon, I led some people to the Lord, and then He released me, but I couldn't see that far ahead at the beginning. Our motto is always ask first, and if He says nothing, then it must not be important: Continue on.

So these beautiful, detailed instructions from the Lord were given to David when he asked. The British Theologian Adam Clarke commented on the remarkable guidance God gave David and why we don't see it today. He wrote:

"How is it that such supernatural directions and assistances are not communicated now? Because they are not asked for; and they are not asked for because they are not expected; and they are not expected because men have not faith; and they have not faith because they are under a refined spirit of atheism, and have no spiritual intercourse with their Maker." (Clarke)

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if we have a heart like David, then we will live an overcoming life like David did. We would see more of The Lord of Breakthrough. You can pray and pray, and it seems like nothing is happening, but behind the scenes, things are moving. 

Picture the giant wall of a dam holding back millions of gallons of water that you desperately need. You pray from this side, and He smashes from that side, and you pray, and He smashes, all while the enemy is scrambling to hold the wall together and prevent one drop from coming through to refresh you. As the cracks spread, they begin to tremble and pray that you will give up and stop. But you continue praying, the Lord continues smashing, and suddenly, like a mighty rushing wind, the wall gives, and you have more water than you ever dreamed of. It seemingly took forever but happened in a second. 

That is the Lord of Breakthrough. Your prayers. His power.

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You speak to me in a way I understand. Please strengthen me to continue on. Give me a clear vision and silence the voice of the enemy. Help me make the right decisions and make what is important to You important to me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!