Where Praise and the Presence of God Are, Demons Are Neutralized

I want to continue this study of the movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and the important details we must keep in mind as the Word of the Lord illustrates them. We saw that the Spirit of God came upon David, and from that moment He came to visit the life of the king of Israel even before he was installed.

But now we see something interesting. In verse 14, in a different section from the one most Bibles mark out, it says: “The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.” Then a series of things that begin to happen are noted here. We see this: in one part of the scene, God activates His blessing and His anointing upon David’s life, and it is as though a movie camera shifts its focus and now shows us Saul’s palace.

We do not know how much time passes between one moment and the next, but what is certain is that we are now brought into Saul’s palace, and there we see that God has begun preparing the ground for David’s ascent to Saul’s throne. Once God has prepared David, the circumstances must now be prepared so that the anointing of God within him can begin to be used properly.

So God withdraws His power from Saul, and not only that, but the Bible says He sends him—this is a mystery we do not have time to explore now—an evil spirit from God that affected Saul. It was probably some kind of emotional illness; it could have been a severe depression that came over him from time to time, some kind of madness, or whatever it was. The point is that Saul’s soul, it says, was terribly troubled, and he seemed to lose his reason.

So his servants suggest bringing in someone who can play the harp to quiet the evil afflicting Saul. Without knowing it, they are cooperating with the Spirit of God, and they suggest bringing David, who has a good reputation.

Incredibly, this is how they describe David. One of them says, “Then one of the servants answered and said,” verse 18, First Samuel 16, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play, and he is brave and strong, a man of war, prudent in speech, and handsome, and the LORD is with him.” This servant suggests to Saul: Get this man, who clearly has the power of God with him, and bring him here.

We do not know whether some time had passed, but here David is described as a brave man and a man of war. Had some time passed, and had something happened in David’s life to prepare him for a certain level of prominence? We do not know. The point is that this servant’s suggestion, inspired by the Holy Spirit, I believe, begins to set David on the path he needs to take to reach the throne. The anointing within him begins to move and to change the circumstances around him so that God’s purposes may be fulfilled in David’s life.

When David arrives at the palace and plays for Saul, the evil spirit within Saul leaves for a time. And while we are here, we can speak of the importance of worship: David was a worshiper, and certainly, where there is worship of the Lord, where there are anointed worshipers who know how to bring down the glory of God, Satan must flee. The powers of the devil are defeated and put to flight. That is why it is important for us to strengthen God’s anointing through worship, to be in settings where the music is suited to bringing down the glory of God so that God begins to move.

This is an interesting point that we also saw with regard to the prophets Saul encountered, who had tambourines and harps and were playing and worshiping the Lord. Wherever the Presence of God is, there is praise; where there is praise, there is the Presence of God; and where praise and the Presence of God are, demons are neutralized and do not have as much power—or perhaps any power at all—to move.

So this man suggests bringing David, who is filled with the Holy Spirit. David’s worship neutralizes the powers of evil at work in Saul, but it also puts David in a position to observe many things, to become accustomed to the royal environment, and to see how a kingdom is governed. I imagine he was able to observe many things there, and all of that was part of the Holy Spirit’s preparation for the one who was to be king.

Interestingly, quite a long time passes between the moment God’s anointing falls upon David and the moment he actually becomes king. Some say it could have been ten or more years; fifteen, some say. But the point is that God’s anointing is already at work in David’s life.

What we see after David is brought to the palace is that other wonderful and very well-known scene in which David sees Goliath, who continually comes before the people, challenges them, and insults the living God. And David, filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with God’s fervor, filled with the power and faith of God within him through the Presence of the Holy Spirit, is stirred to anger when he sees this giant mocking the Spirit of God. We all know the story of David and Goliath and the great defeat the Philistines suffer through the intervention of this young man, who is completely filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

But it all began with that moment of impartation we saw a few verses earlier in David’s home through the intervention of the prophet Samuel. What happens, then, is that when God’s anointing rests on a person, if that person is prepared for opportunities and is watching, as we were saying, for possible opportunities to serve the Lord, the Spirit of God will do His part.

When David sees this opportunity involving the giant and is not afraid, is not indifferent, is not lazy, does not give in to cowardice, and tries to do something to defeat this giant and put an end to the daily insult directed at the Name of the Lord, the Spirit of God within him is activated, and the rest is history, as we say. Because when the Presence of God is in your life and you seize the opportunities, anything is possible.

Our part is to watch for opportunities, to be strong and courageous, to be diligent, and God is more than willing to do the rest. Importantly, if the Spirit of God is in you, believe that the Lord will be working in your life in many different ways so that circumstances line up in your favor and you reach the destiny the Lord has for your life. May the Lord bless us, and until our next program.