Sometimes the pressures accumulate on the warrior until it seems as though he is shut up in a small prison. He is boxed in by circumstances. He cannot move in any direction. He is afflicted, weary, made to rely entirely on the Lord. At such times it is difficult to hold steady in the Lord.

We must continue to wait patiently on the Lord, meanwhile watching carefully in prayer. If we do this there will come a day of release. The Lord will bring us out into a large place. How we will rejoice and praise the Lord in that hour, because the blessing of the Lord makes us rich and He adds no sorrow with it! No good thing will God withhold from him who walks uprightly.

God delivered David from his enemies because He delighted in David. Although David sinned on occasion, God found him to be a man after His own heart. Given David's behavior, it may be true that some of us might not find him to be a man after our own heart. But God's standards are not always our standards.

God requires of His warriors that they walk perfectly before Him.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1)

The commandment to "be perfect" is a cause of stumbling to many believers. The reason is, they have their own standards of perfection that are not God's standards. They know they never will be able to attain their own standards, and so they despair. But God has not called us to attain our own standard of perfection but His standard of perfection.

Many of the heroes of faith did not have personalities we would regard as perfect. In fact, we probably would not enjoy associating with some of these people. But God delights in His colorful warriors because they meet His standards.

God has a unique standard for each of us. If we, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, will do precisely what God sets before us to do, He then will regard us as perfect. He will delight in us. Because He delights in us He will deliver us out of all our afflictions and troubles.

If we bear the fruit God has designed us to bear and is enabling us to bear, then God will give us whatever we ask of Him in Jesus' name (John 15:16). In this instance, God is not hearing us because of our importunity, our persistence in prayer, but because He delights in us. The warrior performs God's will in the earth. Therefore God takes pleasure in him and delivers him.

To be continued.