Introduction to the Prayers of First Samuel

Context

The book of First Samuel, along with Second Samuel and the subsequent books of First and Second Kings, are one continuous narrative. When the Jewish scholars translated it from Hebrew into Greek (200-100 BC), they divided it into four sections. It is best, then, to look at these books together in for the themes, purpose, and the prayers found within.

These four books, First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings, all deal with various stories and history of the Israelites from the conquest of the land of Canaan until the exile of all its leaders by the Babylonians. The principal purpose of this lengthy history is to describe how Israel transitioned from being led by God and his judges and prophets to being led by a single man, a king. It is a commentary (and critique) dealing with a question: is having a king a good thing or a bad thing. The stories seem to say it is both.

Content

After being led by Joshua into the promised land and the conquest of Canaan, the people begin to want a king, just like all the other nations. The prophet thinks this is a failing on their part, and that it shows a lack of trust in God. He warns them, but God tells him to go ahead and give them a king, though God chooses that first king. The story then details the reigns of Saul and David. They both achieved great things for Israel, but were also quite flawed. Therefore, it is not surprising that the major themes of First and Second Samuel (and First and Second Kings) are repentance, a call to faith, and God’s faithfulness despite the sins of the people and the kings.

Prayers

The prayers in these books reflect those purposes and those themes. To study these prayers is a wonderful way to enrich our own prayers. We will encounter many prayers of confession and petition, as well as some praise-prayers, vows, and blessings. There are even a couple of prayers that curse rather than bless.

First Samuel itself tells the story of the birth of Samuel, and some of his work in leading the people of Israel in his role as a prophet. As noted above, Samuel warned the people about having a king, but they insisted. So Samuel, as God directed, anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. The story then describes Saul’s fine beginning and his slow deterioration as a leader. Samuel is then directed to anoint David as the second king, though God allows Saul to finish his reign. David is a comfort to Saul at first but becomes an enemy, despite David’s friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. First Samuel ends with the death of Saul and his son, and David prepared to take the kingship of Israel.

There are twenty-three separate prayers or references to prayer in First Samuel. The majority are by Eli (Israel’s prophet before Samuel), Hannah (Samuel’s mother), Samuel, Saul, and David. Like Ruth, (and unlike Joshua), most of the prayer passages contain the actual words of the prayer instead of just a summary and indirect reference. Like the following three books, there are many petitions, intercessions, and confessions, along with some blessings, vows, and praise-prayers.

The study of the prayers of these well-known and influential figures in the history of Israel are an opportunity for us to learn about prayer and enrich our own prayer life. We begin with the first prayer, a prayer by a woman who has been unable to give birth. She prays to God, and the resulting child will play a significant role in the history of Israel.

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