by: Josh Goddard
1 Samuel 13:14, “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.”
David’s walk with God was so intense and complete that for the rest of history He was known as the man after God’s own heart. As with many men throughout the Bible, David had a great desire to please God with his life. But, more than that, David wanted to be God’s friend. He wanted to walk with Him, and talk with Him, and “abide in the secret place of the most high.” There is something very special about the young man who walks with God. The problem today is that we do not have many young men with a desire to walk with God. We have a bunch of spoiled, world-loving teens and young adults who only want to spend time with their TV, video games, and movies. No one cares about time with God any more. No one wants to be God’s friend. All they care about are their own desires.
If we could get you young men and ladies to understand the importance of a personal walk with God, we wouldn’t have to deal with most of the messes they get into. Walking with God will solve most of your problems as a young person and will pave the way to successful adulthood. David’s life was very blessed by God! Why? Because he learned some very important things as a young man.
1. David learned to be alone.
The best way to get close to someone is be alone with them. This generation of young people hates to be alone. Your lives are filled with the constant noise of the world. Your iPod is turned on as soon as you get out of bed. The TV is switched on soon after that, and it is still on when you get home from school. The earbuds are in while you do your homework and your free time is spent playing video games of browsing the internet. If you do ever have a quiet time forced on you because of school or church, you usually spend it texting. We live in a noisy world!
Never is anyone alone. You are constantly with something other than God. No wonder we can’t find many young people 
who will serve God with their lives. We don’t have any young men who take the time to get alone with God. Our lives are so full of the world we don’t have any time for Him!
1 Thessalonians 4:11 says, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;”
Ecclesiastes 9:17 says, “The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.”
Get alone with God! Turn everything off, go somewhere where there is no music, no cell phone, no friends and just get used to being alone.
2. David would talk to God.
I wonder how many young people ever spend time talking to God? It is not a very popular thing to do nowadays. You don’t just show up to school and say, “I talked to God today.”
David learned at a very young age to talk to God. I’m not talking about praying before you eat lunch either, I am talking about telling God your fears, your trials, problems, heartaches; giving God your praise, thanks, gratefulness, and even your complaints. Tell Him about the good things in life and about the bad. The happy and the sad. Ask Him for help and give Him your cares.
In Psalm 5:3, David says, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
In Psalm 25:1-2 David says, “Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee:let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.”
All through the book of Psalms David shows us how to talk to God. God wants to hear from you! He always has and He always will. It is up to us to take the time to pray.
3. David wanted God to lead him.
Over and over again David begged for God to lead and direct him. Our prayer should be:
Lord, as I go to school, lead me.
When I am at church, lead me.
In choosing my friends, lead me.
Lead me in how I treat my family.
Lead me in what I choose to do on vacation.
Lead me in my sports.
Lead me while I go Soul winning.
When the time comes to make decisions, lead me.
Lead me, God, lead me.
We are to be “ Praying without ceasing.”
We are prone to wander, and without God leading us we will end in destruction.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
You may say, “I’ve never tried to walk with God before.” Give it a try! You will never be happier than when you are walking with God. You will find a contentment that is beyond imagination. Your joy will be full. Walk with God, young person! There is a world out there that needs you!
Josh Goddard
Assistant Pastor
Faith Baptist Church
Wildomar, CA