ESOCS Devotional 28 June 2026 – The Power of Enquiry
MEMORY VERSE: “Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as thy servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come.” 1 Samuel 23:11
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 23:1-18
Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”
2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”
And the Lord said, “He will come down.”
12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”
And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”
13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.
14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
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There is a limit to the extent your knowledge can carry you. What you think you know has a point where it will be stuck; at that point, you will need a fresh knowledge to progress the journey. Assumption should not be the option then, as you would only be moving as a disaster waiting to happen. Men who fail to enquire expire too early. Thus, enquiry is the gateway to a non-stop, limitless, unprecedented, result-oriented journey in life.
King David, before his enthronement, though with the anointing, upon enquiry had gone to Keilah to save her from the hand of the Philistines. Then the news came to him that King Saul had concluded plans to attack him in Keilah. David enquired of the Lord to know what would be the outcome of that visit, in order to plan his next action.
Beloved, come to the point where you don’t take any action without proper enquiry. Never step an inch without enquiring from God, come to that point. What will enquiry do for me? Here are a few of them:
When you enquire, you acquire: It takes good inquisition to have a wonderful acquisition. Upon enquiry, there is the acquiring of knowledge, wisdom, abundant blessings, and great strength. King David acquired strength to pursue, overtake, and recover all when he enquired of the Lord.
When you enquire, you hear: Until a man is current in heaven, he may not be current on earth. It takes a man who enquires to hear from God. Whatever it is that you want God to speak, enquire from Him and be sure to hear it. May you hear God today and always, in Jesus’ name.
When you enquire, you are preserved: There is a strong connection between the prophetic and preservation (Hosea 12:13). David’s enquiry gave the information that propelled the action for his safety. Enquiry gives you access to preservation secrets.
Reflection
- Never outgrow knowledge, enquire always.
- Take all matters of enquiry to God for solution through prayers.
- Approach God with a ‘Tabula rasa’ mentality; and not with a premeditated mind-set.
Prayer
- Father, we thank you for your word, thank you for your readiness to answer us, always.
- Forgive our days of ignorance and grace us more to make recourse to you in every direction of our life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Further Reading: Exodus 17:1-7; 2 Kings 17:1-14; John 9:1-12; Revelation 20:1-End
ESOCS Devotional 28 June 2026
