Pray the Bible

The whole time the tribe of Dan was running its own homemade temple, the house of God was in Shiloh. The Word of God was clear. It was available. They just didn't want to be inconvenienced by going to get it. I don't think it's an accident that the Bible points out Shiloh was right there.

There are things you already know are God's will for your life. Start praying those.

Pancakes or waffles?

Before you get up and pray, "Lord, show me exactly what You'd have me eat for breakfast, the pancakes or the waffles?" maybe begin with, "God, help me see the hunger in the world, and help me not be so gluttonous." That's a prayer most of us need.

We already know what true religion looks like:

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)

God probably doesn't care whether you have the pancakes or the waffles. He cares whether you notice the widows and the street kids. We pray about all kinds of nonsense when God has already shown us what He wants.

Praying the Bible keeps us on track. What did Jesus pray?

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

Bless what God has blessed

When I tell you, "It's God's will that you do this," and you ask, "Show me in the Bible," I want to be able to show you. That solves a lot of issues.

My blessing isn't worth much. You want God's blessing, and you don't want me telling you that you have it when you don't. You don't want me telling you God's okay with a sin because the culture changed its mind.

Dan hired a priest to get the answer they wanted. They didn't ask, "Should we go?" They asked him to bless the trip they'd already decided on, and he did.

And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The presence of the LORD be with you on your way." (Judges 18:6)

God bless you in your disobedience. Just like Micah's mother blessed him for his theft.

Consecrated, not carried

Micah thought a Levite in his living room would bring God's favor. Dan thought a stolen idol and a hired priest would make them legitimate. Both were wrong. They made God fit their mold: comfortable, convenient, a God who told them what they wanted to hear.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)

And private religion doesn't stay private. What's right in your eyes gets passed down, and the next generation trims a little more. We need a God who checks us and cleans us, a God we're consecrated to, not one we carry around in our pocket.

That's where this series lands. You can say all the right words and still worship according to your own eyes. This week, pick one thing you already know is God's will, from Scripture, not from a feeling, and pray it every day. Then check whatever else you're asking for against it.