Numbers 22:31-34 “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword in his hand and he bowed all the way to the ground. And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now and let her live.” And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know you were standing in the way against me. Now then if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back” Have you ever wondered why sometimes something hasn’t happened in your life that you wanted? Maybe it was something materialistic, a new home or a new job. You’ve prayed about it. It was something you desired. When things fell through you were disappointed. The loan didn’t close on that new house you wanted. Someone else got the job. Did you stop and listen to where God wanted you to be? Maybe you become bitter with the job you have or maybe you are unhappy where you live? Numbers 22 describes how Balak wanted Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel for him. But the Lord told Balaam not to go with them, not to curse the people because they were blessed. So, Balaam told those sent by Balak, he would not go with them because the Lord refused to let him go. Well, that was part of what God told him. God actually said in verse 12, “And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Balak was persistent and sent a larger, more distinguished group back to Balaam to persuade him to come and curse the people. Balak would honor Balaam richly. So, Balaam once again sought God, to find out what else the Lord would speak to him. Did Balaam not listen to God’s words the first time? God told him not to go, not to curse the people for they are blessed. Balaam did not tell Balak’s men this when they first came. He just said the Lord refused me to go. So, God told Balaam to go with them and only the word which I speak to you shall you do. This brings us to Balaam’s journey with his donkey. During the trip, the donkey three times saw the angel of the Lord with his sword drawn and tried to turn back. But Balaam struck the donkey to get her to the go in the direction he wanted to go. The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” and he said “No”. Then God opened the eyes of Balaam, and he too saw the angel of the Lord standing in his way with this drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed down to the ground then said, “I have sinned, I did not know you were standing in the way against me.” For every situation when we say, “I will pray about it”, we need to be listening to the direction that God gives us and hear all that He has to say.
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