Pray Continually

1st Samuel 12

Samuel was saying goodbye to Israel as if a former president would announce a nation. The only thing different is Samuel was saying this because God was saying, “You got what you want.” Samuel was just making sure Israel knew what they were doing with their decision.

Integrity

Samuel told Israel that tell me if there was something that I did to take advantage of you. Let me know if you can find anything. They could not, Samuel did not take anything from the people. Actually he continually wanted to serve the people. He is a great example of a true leader. He did not want personal or financial gain. He wanted the well being of the people. 

Samuel then decided to not sugar coat anything for Israel. He went through the history of Israel and showed them that God has been the one that has fought for Israel. God is the one that was the leader who would go before his people. He wanted to leave them with these final words. He wanted them to know that God has been and would continue but the decision they want is not good. 

The people asked that Samuel would still pray for them. How interesting is that they would not heed his words about God being the king but yet still wanted Samuel to be the mediator for them. This reminds of the person that knows they are in sin but does not seek forgiveness. They ask other people to pray for them but they cannot go before the Lord themselves.

In Everything Speak Truth

Samuel really did care for the people because he could have just thrown in the towel and forgot about them and asked God to through down his wrath. What we do see is that Samuel loved them and told them their wrong. He not only loved them but also kept them in prayer. We need to be praying for all our friends, family members, but most importantly our enemies. We need to pray for those that are in the wrong and be willing to be honest and upfront with them.