How to Find Your Role Through prayer (1 Sam 12.8, 10, 17, 18, 19, 23)
“…the Egyptians oppressed them, then your ancestors cried to the LORD…”
Then they cried to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
“I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain…”
So Samuel called upon the LORD…
“Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves.”
“…far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you;”
Background
After Samuel had anointed Saul as king, the people returned to their homes. In a bit of literary foreshadowing, the writer tells us that some people were already questioning the king’s ability to protect them.
It did not take long for a test to arrive. A nearby people, the Ammonites, attacked an area called Jabesh. They announced that thy would accept a treaty if the Jabeshites would agree to have the right eye of each male gouged out. This act would show the weakness of the men of Jabesh and the authority of the Ammonites. They gave them a week to decide.
In response, Saul assembled 370,000 men, who confronted and defeated the Ammonite army. (Note that there was no mention of prayer before or after the battle.)
Despite the victory and the joy of some, there are still some who complain about the king. Perhaps they were jealous of his victory; maybe they took to heart the warnings God had given them about a king. The prophet Samuel calls all the people together and holds a ceremony is an affirmation of the kingship of Saul: they asked for a king, and God provided one. They must now obey him.
The words of Samuel also sound like a farewell speech. This is a crucial moment in the history of Israel because the old role of judge, prophet, and priest of Israel is over. Now, God’s prophets will be mere advisors to the king, without any political, judicial, or military authority.
Samuel’s speech contains six references to prayer. The first two are prayers from the past. Samuel recounts the work he had done among the Israelites in the past—he was faithful and true. He then recalls God’s actions and reminds the people that when their ancestors were slaves in Egypt, they “cried out” to God, and He rescued them. He brought them to the Promised Land and made them victorious. Despite this, the people became complacent in their faith, the Philistines conquered them and took the Ark. Once again, they “cried out” to God and confessed; God delivered them once more. Finally, when the surrounding nations had kings to lead them into battle, they asked Samuel to give them a king. Pointing to Saul, Samuel announces, “this is he!” He urges them to follow him as God’s chosen leader—but tells them it is more important to follow God.
The next four prayer passages fall into two pairs. First, Samuel says that, as proof of the truth of what he just told them, he will pray to God to bring thunder and rain. This would be a valid sign because it is the early summer (the wheat harvest) and thunder and rain were almost unheard of during that time. Samuel then offers the prayer, and God brings the thunder and rain for a day.
After this unusual event, the people are in awe, recognizing the authority of Samuel as a prophet of God and the power of God. They ask Samuel to pray for them because they do not want to die because of their request for a king. The request is heartfelt—they are afraid of what they have done. They throw themselves on the mercy of Samuel and his prayers, which they know are effective!
Samuel calms them down. He reassures them that as long as they listen to God, He will not reject them because of their choice. Samuel also assures them he will pray for them because to refuse would be a sin on his part. This is an affirmation of the new role of the prophet: Samuel (and later prophets) will continue to intercede for the people, even if they are longer their leaders. The problem, as we will see, is that often neither the king nor the people listen to the prophet.
Meaning
What can we learn from these prayers to apply to our own prayers? Consider this: some of us see ourselves as “prayer warriors”—we believe that God has given us the role of spending much time in prayer for the church, the world, and people. Some others might see their gift as visiting those in need and praying with them. Still others might see their gift of prayer in public worship and praise—leading others in prayer. There are many ‘roles’ we might fill.
Who gave us the role? Was it a personal choice? Did it come by chance, and we discovered that it was both our gift and a joy for us? Do we believe that God, through certain circumstances, endowed us with that gift?
Any or all of those may be true. But it is up to God to choose, and circumstances can change. Samuel was selected to lead the people in prayerful guidance in the matters of politics, law, and battle. Then his role was diminished to that of advisor and intercessor alone. He did not reject this new role, telling the people, “you are not using my gifts properly!”
One of my graduate school professors shared the times when he would move to a new place and join a church. He believed that he should not approach the church leaders and say, “here is my gift (preaching, music, teaching, visiting the sick); how can I serve?” Rather, ask what needs the church had, and then go about serving in that way. He prayed that God would provide the gifts he needed. He took the focus from his talents and put it on the needs of the church. He let God work in him. This view, of course, came from Scripture itself.
The stories of Moses, Aaron, Samuel, Jeremiah, Paul of Tarsus, and perhaps even Jesus himself demonstrate that they served as God required, and they allowed Him to provide what they needed.
Application
It can be the same in our prayers. First, ask, “do I have a role in prayer?” You might have one, even if you are not aware of it. That is, you may have fallen into a certain pattern of what you pray, when you pray, and the types of prayer. This may be fine, or, God might have some need of you in another way. You may have certain gifts God has given you in prayer, and using them brings glory to Him. But are you open to other roles? Something beyond your comfort level and outside your usual understanding of your role. It is not about whether you have a “gift” or not, it is about whether there is a need or not.
God had a need for a leader, and he provided the power to accomplish it through Saul, Moses, and Jeremiah, despite their protestations that they were not the right person. God provided. There is no reason to think he would not do the same for us. We only need to see the need, and then, in prayer, trust God to work through us.
