Truths from the OT: Always inquire of the Lord

Always inquire of The Lord.  As Joshua led the conquest in cleansing the promised land, local leaders of Gibeon tricked the Israelites into signing a treaty by pretending to be from a distant nation.  Even though Joshua frequently inquired of The Lord, and had even been directed not to bargain with any of the Canaanites (Deut. 7:2), he did not do so before ratifying the agreement (Joshua 9:14).  Once the Israelites realized the Gibeonites lived in the promised land, it was too late to revoke their oath, and the unconquered people led the Israelites away from The Lord.  Major decisions in life still necessitate that we inquire of The Lord or seek his guidance through prayer (James 5:13), just as king David inquired of the Lord before all his battles (2 Samuel 5:17).  Besides foxhole prayers in times of trouble, Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock, of the Father as a regular and repeated process (Matt.7:7).  To take it even further, the monk Brother Lawrence invites us to “practice the presence” of God, or to pray without ceasing, just as Paul admonishes us to pray continually in a perpetual inquiring of The Lord (1 Thess. 5:17).