so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
      The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

So David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. 2 Samuel 5:19, 23,25

'So David inquired of the LORD' is written twice, and 'David did as the LORD commanded him' is recorded once in 6 verses. David asked, then obeyed. It's a simple principle for us to learn but very difficult to put into motion. We ask and ask and ask, but when the Lord tells us something to do, we question and make up 1001 excuses why we should do it the way we think it should be done.

There's probably one thing now that each of us are inquiring of the Lord. We're asking and seeking and knocking. Actually, it's more like we're begging and pleading and cajoling. But we keep asking. You have probably heard it said, but "be careful what you ask for, you just might get it."

Our challenge is to obey even – no, especially – if we don't like what we hear. He's given us the means and the ability, we just need to do it.