1 Samuel 16:21
“So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.”

We all have to deal with people, and sometimes, our relationships can be tense because we just don’t connect right with the people we have to relate with.

Living in tense relationships can be a big burden, and depending on your personality, it can actually become crushing.

As we cannot live or work alone, having leaders who dislike us can make life miserable. This could be a parent, a sibling, a senior friend, a boss, a senior colleague – or simply anyone we relate with. If they dislike us, they can intentionally make things very difficult for us.

So here is a somewhat mundane but important prayer point.

We need to be praying that God would grant us favor in our relationships, and that our leaders would like us. There is nothing as pleasing and soothing as to be loved and accepted by those we have to deal with.

David had not done anything for Saul before Saul started loving him. David simply stood before Saul and the moment Saul saw him, he “loved him greatly.”

Note that Saul did not just love David, but he loved him greatly. Why and how did this happen?

Saul shares the secret. Concerning David, Saul said to Jesse, “He has found favor in my sight.” This was before David started playing the harp for him.

He saw David and David found favor in his sight, and he made David immediately his armorbearer – the closest person to him. Wow!

Favor is not something you earn. Favor is a gift from God. And one place we definitely need favor is in our relationships.

It is good to feel loved, accepted and appreciated; but it’s more special when these things happen without earning it. Then we know God is at work.

As pilgrims, we need this kind of favor as we work with people. We need God to make us “admired” in the eyes of those who are our leaders.

To have the kind of impact David had on Saul, we need this kind of special, door-opening favor.

We are called to serve people, and some of these people will be in corridors of power, having great influence. Irrespective of who we serve, we need the grace to be liked.

We may not be liked always but until we accomplish our task in that relationship, may we be liked by them. Amen.