Take Back Take Back Your Generation Taking back a whole generation for God is not going to come easy. In fact, sometimes it is a pretty overwhelming task. But we have many reasons to know that it is possible. Just take a look at King David. He led an entire nation into battle when the only thing that he had done before was herd sheep. To us, a whole generation may seem just as big as the nation of Israel seemed to David. He was willing to go for it and we must be, too. It does not matter what the past looks like or even who thinks we can do it. God wants us to be leaders in our generation just like this king was in his. First, we must learn from King David and prepare for this battle. Once he became king, David had a chance to defeat the Philistines, Israel's greatest enemy, and he did it! We can learn how to successfully take back our generation by following David's example. Prepare in Prayer In 2 Samuel 5 the Philistines were about to attack the Israelites. David realized that he could only do one thing. In verse 19, he asked the Lord, "'Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?' The Lord answered, 'Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you'" (NIV). The most important thing for us to do is to really know God. David knew God so well that he knew that he could ask anything and that God would answer him. By talking to God and reading his word every day, we will know that we are ready when we need to ask God what to do and how to do it. In those times, we will have no problem trusting him. Start knowing God more now: spend a part of every day talking to God and giving him a chance to talk to you. Choose a time right now and commit to pray every day at that time for at least 15 minutes; do this every day this week. Get to know God the way that King David did. Strategize Wisely When the Philistines returned after the first battle, David was listening and heard God's instructions in verse 23 to "not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees" (NIV). This was very important because David would not have been successful if he had attacked any other way. God knew which way the Philistines were coming and was able to give King David the perfect instructions for handling that specific situation. In the same way, we need to learn to plan wisely if we are going to take back a whole generation. In addition to listening to God and reading the Bible, it is also important to talk to wise adults in the church when we have ideas to make a difference in this generation. Whether we are planning events or to share our faith, many adults can provide wise strategies like the Lord provided for King David. If there is something great that you want to do to take back this generation, get some advice so that you will be able to make the most of your opportunity. Be Ready to Move Verse 24 says that David's army would need to "move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army" (NIV). David won the battle when he waited for God's perfect time. Because this was King David's second encounter with the Philistines, he could have easily focused on the fact that he had already won once and could do it again. However, this second attack would not have been a success if David had not waited for God's signal. No matter what we are doing, we have to wait for God to say "GO." We cannot make all the plans to take back this generation in an instant. But what we can do is practice listening for direction from God. He will always let us know when He is ready to do something great. We just have to be ready to go when he says it's time. Start asking God to show you the right timing for all of your plans, and be ready to go when He says to go. King David did all of these things and rose triumphantly from his battles. No matter how impossible the fight seems, when we pray, make plans, and wait for God's timing, there is nothing stopping this generation from being taken back. If we realize that we are never too small and then give it our all, we will see amazing things happen! *You are welcome to republish this article once you include the following text and link at the end of the article: Read youth culture news, youth ministry articles, and join the fight for America's young people at http://www.battlecry.com http://www.battlecry.com/pages/take_back.php