01/24/2024
Yesterday morning, as I read from my tiny devotional book, E.M. Bounds spoke of Samuel and the power of his prayers. I especially liked his observation that "Prayer was no strange exercise to Samuel."
For many people, prayer is certainly a strange exercise; they pray without faith and a sure expectation of being heard. They call out to Him with vague words because they don't actually know or understand Him well enough to know what to say. Furthermore, their confidence in His might and ability to answer their prayers is in doubt for one reason or another; perhaps they can't feel His presence, maybe they perceive their needs to be too great for Him, or maybe they simply consider themselves unworthy of His answer. Whatever the reason might be, they should look at men like Samuel whose prayers are answered time and time again, and who have an exemplary strength of faith. There are many classic examples like Samuel, Moses, and Abraham, but there are also men and women in our churches today who are strong prayer warriors as well.
“Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:”
1 Samuel 12:23 KJV
Looking to faithful men and women like this can help those of us who view ourselves as strangers in our own prayer closets in our quest to become well founded believers who lead comfortable prayer lives in which we can pray as we should, and not remain passers-by, or strangers when we attempt to pray to our Father who is in Heaven.
In our bible verse today we heard Samuel speaking to the people of Israel. He had asked God to provide a King for them. Up until this time God had always ruled the people, but now they wanted an earthly King to lead them. I find God's answer to this prayer request especially confounding, it is almost tantamount to placing another God before himself, and yet He gave them what Samuel asked on their behalf. Samuel was no stranger to prayer, and felt it was a sin not to pray for Israel and its people. He also said that despite this awkward prayer request for a human king, he would continue to teach them the good and right way to pray, and to worship God.
I think that we should realize through this account that God really does desire our prayers, and to maintain a deep rooted relationship with us. He is even willing to anoint a human king over His people to achieve their return to praying, and to worshiping Him. If He would do this for Samuel and the people of Israel, then what would He do for us as a result of our prayers today?
Samuel was a man of God and prayed within the Lord’s will. He knew the heart of God through much prayer, worship, and study. He would never have asked God to recognize an idol, but he did ask Him to anoint a king to rule over Israel as His anointed governor, who would serve them in His name. And, this was not a solitary occurrence because we see that He might have started with Saul, then anointed David, but that as we read on He establishes over 40 kings.
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…”
Daniel 2:21 ESV
When we pray we too should seek to understand the will of God. If we do this then our prayers will carry with them the same power as Samuel's. Furthermore, folks should understand that it isn't the person who prays that heals us, saves us, or delivers us... it is our God to whom we address our prayers. The glory of answered prayer is always His, and His power is undeniable… just as all the glory is His as well. So, are we ready to become comfortable in our prayer closets, and in the prayers we offer from there, and are we prepared to cease being strangers to prayer?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for establishing prayer as our means of communicating with you, and for teaching us how to pray. Thank you for the instruction of Jesus that we call “The Lord’s Prayer”, and for all those times that your Holy Spirit has prayed for us when we were at a loss for words. Thank you Holy Father for allowing us to be comfortable in our prayers, and comforted by them. Thank you too for removing our fear as we come to you, and ask you, the creator of the universe, for your help, provision, and your intercession in the most intimate, trivial, and awkward of things in our lives. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who hears our every prayer, large and small, and tells us to come to you continuously in them without ceasing. When we humble ourselves before you, and prostrate ourselves in prayerful pose, it is not as strangers, but as your loving children, and not doubting whether you have heard us, but expecting your answer. Pour out your mercy and grace upon us as we pray Abba, and forgive us our sins as we confess them in contrition, and profess our love and adoration for you with lifted arms. Great are you Lord, and wonderful are you who hears and gives us all those things we pray for in the name of Jesus. Let your will be ours, and in so being let it comfort us in our times of need and trouble as we pray then wait expectantly on you. Praised be your name as we worship you in the sweet aroma of our prayers, and long to be with you forevermore.
Rich Forbes