Now the Philistines had taken God's ark, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. The Philistines took God's ark, and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the people of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before Yahweh's ark. They took Dagon and set him in his place again. 1 Samuel 5:1–3 WEB.

After the Philistines captured the ark of God and placed it in their temple, they came in the next morning and found their god dagon, the god of grain and fish, lying on his face before the ark. So they stood their idol back up, but the next morning when they came in, dagon was lying face down before the ark again, and this time he was broken in several pieces.

The backslidden Israelites had intended to use God to fight their battles by bringing out the ark of the covenant, thinking that the army that carried the ark before them was invincible. Yet, it wasn't a magic box that made them victorious, but the presence of the Lord. That day the Israelites discovered God was with their enemy instead. He allowed the Ark of the Covenant to be captured by the Philistines.

You can't use God to accomplish your will; we must align with His. He is the Almighty God, and we are His children. Disciplined children listen to their parents. Those who don't may be disciplined.

When God said, "You shall have no other gods before Me," He actually meant it. If you make something in your life more important than Him, it will crumble, and you'll be disappointed. So make the Lord the first priority in your life, and everything else will fall into place. If you build your life around something else, it will go face down.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for bringing me this far. Please guide me today, and help me make the right decisions. Please help me get my life balanced. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.