f27

Joshua

Although Joshua was Moses’ immediate successor, he does not appear to have been the person of prayer that Moses was. That he did pray cannot be doubted, but he seems to have been more a person of action than a person of prayer. “As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses” (Josh. 11:15).

On at least one occasion, Joshua’s lack of prayer resulted in a problem for Israel with lasting consequences. Unwisely and unadvisedly, Joshua entered into a covenant with men from Gibeon. “The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD” (Josh. 9:14).

Even so, Joshua did pray. His first recorded encounter with Yahweh was at the very outset of his new role as Israel’s commander-in-chief. The initiative seems to have been totally of the Lord, for there is no record of Joshua making any petition at the time (see Josh. 1:1–9). Yet hearing is a vital part of praying. He who hears well might very well require less petition.

Joshua’s first prayer, a prayer of recognition, is recorded in Joshua 5:13–15:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the LORD’S army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The whole of Joshua’s praying in this instance is recorded in two questions: “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The answers received are somewhat of a revelation. The answer to the first question seems, “It is not a question of who I am for or against, but of who is for me.” Issues of disagreement among God’s children are best resolved not by taking sides against each other but by seeking and choosing the Lord’s side.

The second question revealed the heart of Joshua. He was ready to obey—indeed, to be the Lord’s servant—and he got his answer (v. 15). In telling Joshua to take off his sandals, the divine visitor was saying, “Give due recognition to Him in whose presence you stand.” There is no higher instruction for those who would truly be His servants.

Joshua’s next recorded prayer was prompted by Israel’s defeat at Ai.

Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?” (Josh. 7:6–9).

Paul’s observation about prayer fits Joshua’s circumstance perfectly: “We do not know what we ought to pray for” (Rom. 8:26). The utter humility of Joshua and Israel’s elders in the face of desperate circumstances is most commendable, but blaming God for their plight was extreme folly. How dimly we human beings see! How poorly we perceive! How unwisely we blame God!

Joshua’s appraisal of what Israel’s enemies would say about the defeat of God’s people was accurate. And his jealousy for the name of the Lord was admirable. However, his judgment of the cause for the disaster was quite inaccurate. Yet the Lord did not reprimand Joshua for his faulty praying. Though we may not always pray with a proper understanding of the facts, God is honored when we pray, and in turn He honors our praying with an adjustment of our course.

There is a time to pray. But there are times when praying will not, by itself, yield a solution to the problem, even though it may bring to light things that must be changed so the problem can be resolved. “The LORD said to Joshua, “ ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned’ ” (Josh. 7:10–11). Sin had dealt defeat to Israel; victory depended on bringing sin to judgment (see Josh. 7:13 to 8:1; cf. James 5:16).

Another prayer of Joshua’s incited the interruption of nature. Few mortals have wrought exploits by prayer as recorded in Joshua 10:12–14:

Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies.… The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

The answer to Joshua’s prayer indicates the degree to which God is willing to be involved in the battle against evil. If need be, He can put the perpetual motion of His universe on hold in order to assure the enemy’s defeat. What faith-inspiring encouragement to all who by prayer engage in spiritual warfare!

Deborah

Women played a significant role in Israel’s history. And none was more prominent than Deborah, whose name literally translated is “bee,” having “a sting for her foes, and honey for her friends.”¹

Prayer can take any of a number of forms, from articulate petition to “groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8:26). Deborah’s recorded prayer might scarcely be judged a prayer at all. It is a song of praise rehearsing God’s mighty acts. Yet, considered as a prayer, it offers an inspiring pattern for regenerating faith. Anyone who prays can profit greatly by recounting the many things God has done—for His Kingdom and for His people.

On that day Deborah … sang this song: “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the LORD!… I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel” (Judg. 5:1–2).

Gideon

During the period of the Judges the Israelites did not serve the Lord in a consistent manner. We can see a cycle repeated where for a time they would serve Him fervently and faithfully. Then came the blessings of the Lord with attendant prosperity and triumph over the enemy. But generally this would not continue long, for soon would come departure from the Lord’s commandments, including the practice of idolatry and other evils. As a consequence, chastisement by the Lord followed, including defeat by their enemies (see, for example, Judg. 6:1). Finally the people would repent and beg God for deliverance.

God’s dealings with Gideon were in direct response to Israel’s cry of desperation during a period of servitude to foreigners. The word of the angel to Gideon—“ ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior’ ” (Judg. 6:12)—did not make sense to this young farmer timidly beating out wheat in the security of a wine press.

“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?… I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” … When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” (Judg. 6:13–14, 16–17, 22).

Gideon’s prayer flowed from an awareness of his heritage and a longing for its return, as well as from a sense of inability and unworthiness (6:15). He expressed utter bewilderment to God, but forthrightly and openly. Such honest humility was a shining light in Israel’s darkness. Noting his sense of weakness and humility, God selected Gideon for a great mission. Self-confidence can be the greatest enemy to dependence upon God.

Gideon’s request, “give me a sign” (6:17), may seem at first to be an unworthy petition. However, Gideon’s plea for a sign sprang more from his own self-distrust than from his lack of faith. He had to be certain it was indeed the Lord who was directing him, and that he was not the victim of some illusion or delusion.

Pure terror overtook Gideon as he realized he had truly confronted God (6:22). Yet God will not reveal himself beyond our ability to bear such a revelation. “The LORD said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die’ ” (6:23). The magnitude of God’s revelation was itself a revelation of God’s appraisal of Gideon. Immediately Gideon built an altar to the Lord and named it “Yahweh [Jehovah] shalom,” “The Lord is Peace,” for God was at peace with him. When the Lord said to Gideon, “Peace!” Gideon gained a broadened perception of God. Gone was his feeling that God had abandoned Israel. Then he built an altar as evidence of his new relationship with the Lord.

Gideon’s fleece was not a device for finding God’s will. He already knew God’s will. He simply wanted reassurance. Although Gideon’s request was honored by God, the “fleece” has been unwisely applied by well-meaning but misguided Christians who try to use it as a substitute for being guided by God’s Word.

“Look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew” (Judg. 6:37–39).

For Gideon, making such a request was acceptable, and God honored it. For us, a similar request might be dangerous and misleading. Imagine the dilemma Gideon faced. He was being asked to lead a revolt against the authority of the ruling Midianites. To readers today, it seems natural that God would want to deliver His people from foreign oppression. But Israel had sinned, and invasion by an enemy was the promised penalty. For seven years Israel had suffered the judgment of God (6:1–6). How could Gideon be sure that God wanted him to resist authority that God himself had placed over his disobedient people? In such an instance, when one feels that God may be leading in an unusual direction or asking one to do something contrary to good judgment or usual divine activity, an action like Gideon’s may be in order.

In other words, when Gideon laid out his fleece, he already knew what God had asked him to do (6:14). But he had difficulty believing what he had heard. Was it really God speaking to him? Might he not be imagining what many Hebrew young men had dreamed of doing—delivering Israel from the Midianites? Was God, who gave authority to Gentile as well as Hebrew leaders, asking him to resist that authority? Would God really want to use such a weak and unimportant person as Gideon? With all these reasons for not recognizing the validity of the divine instructions he had earlier received, the use of the fleece may have had a legitimate purpose. Though there may be instances of similar divine intervention in more recent history, other guidelines for discovering God’s will are established by both example and precept for the New Testament church.

Jabez

Scripture records very little about Jabez. First Chronicles 4:9 calls him “more honorable than his brothers,” but to gain greater insight into him we must rely on his one recorded prayer.

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request (1 Chron. 4:10).

How people pray, not who they may or may not be, is what gains heaven’s attention and response. Jabez’s prayer is simple, yet direct in recognizing that God is the source of any blessing or personal success. One is struck with Jabez’s godly outlook and spirit, so evident in his four earnest petitions.

1. For God’s blessing. We ought to covet the blessing of God, and to treasure it above gold (cf. Gen. 32:26; Prov. 10:22).

2. For enlargement of territory. Everyone ought to desire spiritual posterity, disciples, and influence (cf. 1 Thess. 2:19). Opportunities for greater service should be viewed as possible answers to this prayer.

3. For enablement. We all ought to ask earnestly for God’s direction in our affairs and for the enablement of His hand in our undertaking (cf. Gen. 24:12–14; Acts 4:29–30).

4. For preservation from evil and its hurt. Everyone ought to cry to God for deliverance from evil and its sorry consequences (cf. Matt. 6:13; 1 Thess. 4:3–4).

Jephthah

Jephthah’s prayer should sound an alarm for everyone who prays. Making a vow to God is not an uncommon part of praying. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament a vow is a promise, or pledge, made to God, never to a person. It is always a voluntary expression of faith, not a bribe. Jephthah’s vow, as he prayed to God, expressed an unusual devotion and commitment.

Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’S, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering” (Judg. 11:30–31).

It is of no small consequence to make a promise to God, nor should it be done lightly or without forethought. Jephthah’s vow, although made with the best of intentions and with the purpose of giving honor to God, was made without due consideration of possible eventualities. He was shocked when his daughter was the first to come out of his door. There is much debate about how Jephthah carried out his vow. Some believe that in those dark days Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter. However, Leon Wood gives rather convincing arguments to show that Jephthah “offered her in the sense of devoting her to the Tabernacle for continual service and perpetual celibacy.”²

Manoah

The natural concern of a Christian parent should be the spiritual nurture and normal development of sons and daughters. The prayer of Manoah is certainly worthy of emulation by every prospective parent.

Manoah prayed to the LORD: “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.… So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?” (Judg. 13:8, 12).

Manoah’s prayer was explicitly answered (13:13–14). Parents who sincerely desire to please God and rear their children to honor God are well advised to pray exactly as Manoah did: “ ‘Teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born’ ” (13:8). “ ‘What is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?’ ” (13:12).

Samson

Strange as it may seem, there is only one biblical account of Samson’s praying prior to his prayer at the time of his death. After killing a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, a thirsty and spent Samson called on the Lord: “ ‘You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?’ ” (Judg. 15:18).

Here is a person whose record of exploits is such that his name is still synonymous with superhuman strength. Here is a person of such remarkable faith that he earned a place in the famous faith chapter of Hebrews (11:32). And yet Samson was also someone whose personal degradation brought him to shame, blindness, and bondage. We wonder why. Could it be that his prayerlessness led to his downfall?

Samson knew how to yield to God’s Spirit. He knew how to exercise unusual faith. But he did not know how to subdue his own fleshly passions, and he evidently failed to employ the available resources of prayer, for ultimately “he did not know that the LORD had left him” (Judg. 16:20). Jesus knew the weakness of human nature when He told the disciples, “ ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak’ ” (Matt. 26:41). Let every believer in God take heed!

Samson’s final words were addressed to God. He had failed miserably, but he still knew the source of his strength:

“O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.… Let me die with the Philistines!” (Judg. 16:28, 30).

God’s chastening had been bitter, but in the end it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness. The awful blindness, bondage, servitude, and humiliation of the Gaza prison had pressed Israel’s mighty judge to repentance and to a renewal of relationship with the God unto whom he had been separated from his mother’s womb. Once again he was in a position of usefulness. Now he could pray effectively and deliver a defeat to God’s enemies beyond anything he had accomplished in his lifetime. Prayer is the key to renewal and restoration.

The Children of Israel

Until now our attention has focused on the praying of individuals. However, some corporate prayers of Israel are recorded and should be noted. The following passage should be read against the backdrop of Judges 19 and 20, as Israel sought God’s guidance in moving against the tribal immorality of Benjamin.

The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, “Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?” The LORD replied, “Judah shall go first” (20:18. [After being routed by the Benjamites, the Israelites again prayed.] The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, “Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them” (20:23). [After another great defeat, the Isrelites fasted and inquired of God.] They asked, “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?” The LORD responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands” (20:28).

Failure after apparently receiving a sense of direction from the Lord in response to prayer is not foreign to the experience of God’s children, difficult as it may be to understand. In such times God ought not to be rashly blamed, but people ought the more earnestly to inquire. In this way, failure can become the harbinger of a greater success, as happened to Israel (see 20:46).

On the surface, Israel’s prayer appears strange indeed. After an initial defeat, “Shall we go up again to battle against … our brothers?” and God’s answer in the affirmative, leading to the second defeat, appear no less mysterious and out of keeping with God’s character. Yet it must be understood that His purposes are not subject to human judgment. In God’s economy there may have been a need for learning complete dependence upon God; or God may have seen something in the Israelites (as well as the Benjamites) that needed purging, lest the whole lump be defiled (cf. 1 Cor. 5:5–7). It is only by God’s enablement that His highest purpose is accomplished.

The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. “O LORD, the God of Israel,” they cried, “Why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?” (Judg. 21:2–3).

Israel’s great sorrow and distress over Benjamin’s plight showed their concern over the covenant bond between the tribes. What they did to secure wives for the remaining Benjamites seems cruel, but they felt it was necessary, and the Bible reminds us that this was not God’s direction, for “in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judg. 21:25).

Hannah

Deborah’s praying, as we have seen, was in the form of magnification and exaltation of the Lord, a commemorative song, along the lines of Miriam’s (see chapter 2, pp. 63–64). By contrast, Hannah’s words are more easily recognized as prayer. In fact, one source identifies Hannah’s prayer as “the first recorded instance of a woman at prayer.”³ Although many other godly women had surely engaged in prayer from earliest time, it may be that Hannah’s is recorded more for its consequences than for any other reason. Her prayer produced one of Israel’s most influential prophets, Samuel, who was to become God’s agent in the selection and anointing of the incomparable King David.

In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever be used on his head.” … Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk (1 Sam. 1:10–11, 13).

The heart’s deepest desire sometimes becomes the means of affecting the divine purpose. On the one hand was a grieving childless woman, Hannah; on the other was the Lord, about to send to Israel a prophet who would forever alter her history. An unspoken prayer was the link between the two.

Weeping and praying, tears and triumph, often go hand in hand. Of Jesus, the most eminent of praying people, Scripture says, “He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Heb. 5:7). Tears announce the soul’s anguish and its intensity, and the two together elicit response from a compassionate God (cf. 2 Kings 20:5).

In Hannah’s prayer we have a mingling of petition and promise, almost a holy bargaining: “If you will … then I will give.” This was not merely cheap bartering. The soul’s intensity is measured by the sacrifice it is willing to make to gain its desired goal.

Unique to Hannah’s praying was the fact that “her lips were moving but her voice was not heard” (1 Sam. 1:13). Tears came from her eyes, but the prayer came from her heart. This is the first recorded instance of mental, or silent, prayer. And thus we note that the effectiveness of prayer is not dependent upon the petitioner’s volume. God, who “sees what is done in secret” (Matt. 6:6), needs no shouting to gain His attention. He needs only the soul’s intense desire. (Of course, intense desire may express itself also in loud petition [see Mark 10:46–47].) Although Hannah did not give voice to her prayer, she most certainly did articulate her burden in her mind, for she said to Eli, the high priest, “ ‘I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief’ ” (1 Sam. 1:17).

And Hannah received her answer (1 Sam. 1:17–18). It came first in a divine word from Eli: “ ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him’ ” (1 Sam. 1:17). All who pray may learn from Hannah’s example. She needed no tangible evidence in the order to believe; she needed only a word from the Lord, “and her face was no longer downcast” (1 Sam. 1:18). Hannah’s faith rested on that word, and in due season Samuel was born. Even then her faith was evident, for the name she gave her son meant “the Name of God.” In this way she honored the name (including the character and nature) of the faithful God who heard and answered her prayer. It also expressed her desire for her son to have a godly name and character.

Prayer need not always be petition. Hannah’s second prayer began in highest exaltation of her Lord and ended in inspired prophetic utterance.

“My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.… The LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.… The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.… He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed” (1 Sam. 2:1–3, 6–10).

From silent and unvoiced petition, this godly mother in Israel rose perhaps to loudly articulated praise and prophetic declaration encompassing the coming Messiah. Not surprisingly, her praise is echoed in the New Testament by another mother, that of Jesus (Luke 1:46–55).

Samuel

Samuel was a mere child when he learned to pray. “The LORD came and stood there, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’ (1 Sam. 3:10). But before Samuel entered into this dialogue with God, Eli had taught him to pray: “ ‘If he calls you, say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” ’ ” (3:9).

Eli’s instruction was at once profoundly simple and simple profound. It confronted life’s central issue—hearing God’s voice (“Speak, LORD”) and obeying it (“your servant is listening”). Here was the launching pad for Samuel’s godly and illustrious ministry. Christian parents (as priests over their own homes) might well bless their children, and the world, by imparting to their offspring a simple awareness of God’s voice through His Word, and by urging upon them a ready and willing response to the divine call.

But God’s message could not be given to the young and tender Samuel until he could recognize its source, and with this he needed help. The Source of the speaking is as important as the message spoken. Both Samuel and Eli needed to know that was indeed God who had spoken. Eli needed to know that what was reported was not from a childish imagination. Thus the child who was given to the Lord because his mother was “heard of God” was himself readied to respond to God and hear from Him. First, he heard from God; then God heard a response acknowledging Samuel’s awareness of the Source of what he had heard. Having learned to recognize the voice of God and to communicate with Him in prayer, Samuel was fit for his task of spiritual leadership.

Later, Samuel was used to bring spiritual revival as well as victory to Israel. “Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you.’ When they had assembled at Mizpah, … they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD.’ … They said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.’ … He [Samuel] cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him” (1 Sam. 7:5–6, 8–9).

Israel had departed from the Lord. Their allegiance leaned toward foreign gods. The Philistines were prevailing. There was no way they could obtain God’s help until their present course was corrected. Under Samuel’s leadership they took three steps. They (1) fasted (7:6), (2) confessed (7:6), and (3) acknowledged their need for divine intervention (7:8). Prayer might yield far greater results if those who pray would first recognize and act upon the already revealed will of God.

The description of Samuel’s praying is noteworthy. Samuel “cried out … and the LORD answered” (7:9). Prayer to be effective need not be wordy or complicated. It needs only to reflect utter need and total dependence. And when God hears, He acts (see 7:10–14).

Godliness, however, is no guarantee of exemption from disappointment, nor does it always assure complete loyalty of others to the divinely instituted precepts which the godly readily espouse. The fact that Samuel’s sons “did not walk in his ways” but “turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice” (1 Sam. 8:3) no doubt was a great personal disappointment to Samuel. But add to that disappointment the request of the elders of Israel for a king to rule over them (8:5), and one begins to feel the ache that Samuel must have felt. Nevertheless, he continued to conduct the business of the Lord. “When they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD” (1 Sam. 8:6). Despite his disappointment and displeasure, Samuel prayed. “It was as prophet that he thus acted as mediator between the people and God; and he gave his services in this his highest capacity as faithfully when the question was one injurious to himself as he had ever done on more pleasing occasions.”⁴

The answer Samuel received was both consoling and disconcerting: “ ‘It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me’ ” (1 Sam. 8:7). They had chosen the dominion of a visible, earthly potentate in place of the invisible, omnipotent Jehovah. Then they greedily pursued monarchy with all of its attendant evils, in place of theocracy with all of its glorious provision and promise. What pitiful deals people make when they follow the counsels of their own desire instead of seeking the counsel of Him who does all things in one’s best interest! Israel was to learn by bitter experience of the divine displeasure:

Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king” (1 Sam. 12:18–19).

A lesser person than Samuel might have left the Israelites to their own devices, abandoning God’s people to suffer the consequences of their decisions. But Samuel sought rather to encourage and comfort his erring people, to aid them despite their folly. To them he also pledged his prayer and continued leadership: “ ‘Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right’ ” (1 Sam. 12:23).

Samuel perceived that it was sin against the Lord to stop praying for his people. Does it matter whether we pray or not? It matters so much that to neglect it is to sin against Almighty God. Samuel’s concern for Israel is captured in emotionally charged lines that likely describe at one time or another the feeling of every true spiritual leader who considers the congregation of the Lord through His eyes:

For her, my tears shall fall;

For her, my prayers ascend,

To her, my cares and toils be given,

Till toils and cares shall end.⁵

Deep and sorrowful disappointment over the failure of God’s servants in high places is not an uncommon lot for a godly person, especially after such a word from the Lord as Samuel received: “ ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night” (1 Sam. 15:11). One expositor says of this passage:

He [Samuel] … spent a whole night in interceding for him [Saul], that this decree might not go forth against him. When others were in their beds sleeping, he was upon his knees praying and wrestling with God. He did not … deprecate his own exclusion from the government; nor was he secretly pleased, as many a one would have been, that Saul, who succeeded him, was so soon laid aside, but on the contrary prayed earnestly for his establishment, so far was he from desiring that woeful day. The rejection of sinners is the grief of good people; God delights not in their death, nor should we.⁶

Between Samuel and God there was unimpeded communication. Samuel spoke; God responded. God spoke; Samuel responded.

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD’ ” (1 Sam. 16:1–2).

For those willing to be led, there is ready guidance (cf. John 7:17). The committed heart and the trained ear do not find it difficult to hear the Lord’s gentle “ ‘This is the way; walk in it’ ” (Isa. 30:21). Fear is the enemy not only of the ungodly, but sometimes of the godly as well. Yet only the godly have a ready panacea. They need but “approach the throne of grace with confidence … in … time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Samuel did, and he found an immediate solution.

King Saul

Saul is an enigma, a strange combination of God-consciousness, impetuosity, altar-building, and prayer. Though he was God-conscious, he was not godly. Though he did pray at times, he cannot be considered a person of prayer. It is possible that his flagrant acts of disobedience and rashness were but the fruits of his neglect of those means of grace to which his successor, David, would resort.

One instance of his altar building and prayer is noteworthy.

Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time had done this.… Saul asked God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day (1 Sam. 14:35, 37).

Because of Saul’s disobedience Samuel had said the kingdom would not continue in Saul’s line (1 Sam. 13:14). Instead of repenting, Saul tried to act more religious. Without any direction from God, he placed his soldiers under oath not to eat anything until evening (1 Sam. 14:24). Because of Jonathan’s daring, a victory was won; but when evening came the soldiers were so famished that they began to kill and eat captured livestock without draining the blood as the Law required. When this was reported to Saul, he had them bring the animals to a large stone, so that the blood could drain out. Then he built his first altar, probably as an attempt to compensate for the breaking of the Law. But offerings to God do not compensate for an unacceptable lifestyle and disobedience.

Yet Saul, satisfied with himself, proposed going against the Philistines again. But the priest urged him to seek the Lord first. When God “did not answer him that day,” Saul concluded that some sin was creating an obstacle. But he failed to consider that the problem might be within himself rather than his people. So he set out to discover the culprit, whoever he might be (1 Sam. 14:39). Using lots, the lot fell on Jonathan, who, without knowing about his father’s oath, had eaten a bit of honey. This was not wrong in itself, nor did the lot mean that Jonathan deserved death. It simply identified him as the one who had eaten something and allowed the rest of the army to go free. Nevertheless, Saul, again without prayer, made another rash oath that Jonathan must die. But the intercession of the people saved him (1 Sam. 14:44–45). How much God is displeased when we rationalize our selfish actions and use outward forms of religion as a substitute for genuine obedience. Had Saul sought and obeyed the will of God, he would not have found God silent. The same lesson must be learned by people today.

Spiritually Saul was virtually a Jekyll and Hyde. In a single day he could act in deliberate, outright disobedience, and just a short time later plead with Samuel that his worship be accepted. Actually, his real purpose was to try to make a good impression on the people. “Saul replied, ‘I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.’ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD” (1 Sam. 15:30–31).

We need not think this too strange or unusual, for even the demon-possessed of Jesus’ day worshiped Him (see Mark 5:6). Such worship is unacceptable, nor does it compensate for disobedience.

Saul did pray. But God’s response was always the same: “He [Saul] inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6). We may wonder why there was no response, especially since Scripture indicates that at one point God had “changed Saul’s heart” (1 Sam. 10:9). We know that in the natural world of heart transplants it is not uncommon for the human body to reject a new heart. Perhaps in spite of his new heart, Saul retained his power of choice to his own hurt; his own rebellion and disobedience toward God left no place for repentance or recovery. What a fearful prospect!

Consequently, Saul could get no answer. Though he continued as Israel’s king for nearly thirty years after his rejection, he was a person cut off from God. No means or device would work, neither dreams, nor Urim, nor prophets. Heaven was silent. As a final resort, he turned to a spiritist medium (1 Sam. 28:7). Although he did on this occasion get an answer of sorts, he got no solution to his problem and died a miserable suicide. He ended as a self-willed king leading a self-willed people to defeat. What a contrast he was to the godly people of prayer who preceded him: Moses, Deborah, Hannah, Samuel!