Samuel is given honourable mention as a man of prayer, Ps. 99. 6. Again, his reputation as intercessor on behalf of the people is acknowledged by God in the time of Jeremiah, his name being linked with Moses in that respect, Jer. 15. 1. One imagines that his attitude towards prayer was instilled into him from his earliest days for his mother was a woman of prayer, one who had practised prayer and proved its value. Samuel, himself, was an answer to prayer for he had been ‘asked of God’.
Throughout his long life we observe a readiness to approach God in prayer for necessary direction and support, according to his requirements at any time. That he stood as leader of a nation only served to heighten his awareness of the need for prayer; he made himself available in this respect for those who could not, or would not, pray for themselves. It seems there was an urgency in the manner of Samuel’s praying for we read of his ‘crying unto the Lord’, 1 Sam. 7. 9; 15. 11, and his ‘calling unto the Lord’, 1 Sam. 12. 18. There was persistence in his praying – on one occasion it is recorded that he prayed ‘all night’, 1 Sam.15. 11. His impressive record in prayer was recognized by the people, so that they enlisted his help as mediator on their account before God and to solicit God’s help in times of trouble; cf. 1 Sam. 7. 8, ‘Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us …’.
There is a certain irony in the fact that on the one recorded occasion when Samuel neglected to seek God first for guidance ere a crucial decision was taken there were such tragic consequences. Samuel’s appointment of his sons to follow him in judging Israel was without precedent, and obviously according to his own natural feelings rather than accepting God’s authority in choosing suitable candidates. With the benefit of hindsight we see the folly of his actions. Regardless of his age and experience, at such a time as this he needed divine wisdom in order to make a ‘right’ decision, for it affected an entire nation. He had but to ask and God would have ‘liberally’ bestowed His wisdom so that no unwise step would be taken, Jas. 1. 5. Prayer on this occasion was retrospective – an afterthought, 1 Sam. 8. 6. Let us take heed!
