Samuels Life of Prayer

Prayer stood at the center of Samuel's entire life. Before Samuel was even conceived, his mother Hannah, dedicated him to God. "O Lord of hosts, if only you will... give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazarite [one designated to the service of God] until the day of his death" (1 Sam 1:11). From the time Samuel was weaned he lived with Eli in the temple and there as a young boy, he responded in prayer to God's call: "Speak for your servant is listening" (3:10). because of Samuel's prayer life he was to become an important prophetic voice of God in this period of Israel's life.

Toward the end of his life of prayer Samuel directed and led Israel to serve God wholeheartedly and rid themselves of all foreign gods: "If you are returning to the Lord with all of your heart (through prayer) then put away the foreign gods... direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines" (7:3). When Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of his people in prayer, "the Lord answered him," and for the remainder of Samuel's life, God resrained the Philistines, and the Israelites lived at peace with them (7:12-14).

At the end of Samuel's life before the reign of Saul began, Samuel spoke with people about Israel's lack of prayer and unfaithfullness and because of their lack of prayer and their need now for fearing God and serving him. To emphasize God's anger at their unfaithfullness and the strength of Samuel s prayer life, Samuel called on God to bring thunder and rain on an early summer day when such rain was unusual. The rain came. As the Israelites begged for mercy, Samuel said, "far be it from me that I should sin against the lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way" (12:23)

After Saul became king and disobeyed the Lord: "Samuel was angry; and cried ou to the Lord all night" (15:11). Samuel grieved until God told him to stop (again in prayer). And in the end because of Samuel's faithfulness to prayer he would annoint a new king, a son of Jesse. King David would serve as a forerunner to Christ, the ressurected and eternal king. In anointng David (16:13), Samuel performed a fitting duty to end his service to Israel. David would walk in Samuel's footsteps, living a life of prayer and intimacy with God.

God Bless,
Deacon Jim