Jump Start # 260

1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.”

  Israel wanted a king, like the other nations had. This was a rejection of God and Samuel. God allowed it. Saul is chosen by God to be the first king of Israel. Saul comes from a good family. He is tall and handsome. He has a “kingly” way about him. He looks like a king. God is more interested on the inside of a person, the character of the heart than the outside. Saul becomes Israel’s first king. He reigns for nearly 40 years. That is hard to imagine for us. Think of having the same president for 40 years. Saul starts off well, but soon disobeys God and the nation spirals downward under his leadership. Near the end, Saul seems to lose it mentally, and in common language, he becomes a basket case. Jealous, suspicious and hateful he leaves the nation open for attack, which happens.

  Our verse today comes from the words of Samuel. Soon after Saul is made king, the nation realizes that it was wrong to ask for a king. They fear that God will destroy them. Promises are made. Hope is restored. Our verse shows that Samuel hasn’t given up on them. He will continue to help them and pray for them. Lessons learned, we hope.

  Two thoughts to consider:

  First, the nation of Israel had what we call today, “Buyers remorse.” They wanted something, got it, and then wished they didn’t have it. For some, it is a car. For Israel, it was a king. This is very early in Saul’s reign. He hasn’t had the chance to do anything—good or bad. The reality of what they wanted hit them. Sin will do that for us. We are tempted to do wrong. We open the door and commit rebellion against God. When it is over, we wished we hadn’t done that. David’s son, Amnon illustrates this. He wanted his step sister. He lusted and claimed he loved her. After he raped her, the text says, he hated her more than he loved her. He threw her out. Buyers remorse. Regret. Guilt. Greed will do that to a person. A person just gets obsessed with getting something, often an item they can’t afford. It seems to take over. It’s all they can think about or talk about. Finally, they get it. They are not happy. The bill comes it and they regret it. That happens. It ought to make us pause and think about things. Sometimes we just get a “fever” about things, and nothing satisfies us until we have it.

  Second thought, Samuel states, that it would be a sin for him to cease to pray for Israel. Wow. I don’t think we view prayer that way. Most people I know admit they need help with their prayer life. Most realize that we don’t pray enough. That’s common. Some will say that they find it hard to concentrate a long time in prayer. Their mind wanders. Some run out of things to talk to God about. Some of these may be faith issues. Others change as a person matures spiritually. But, I’ve not heard people feel that it is a sin to fail to pray. That’s the way Samuel saw things. I rather expect the apostle Paul did as well. He was always mentioning others in prayer. Makes you think doesn’t it? Have we failed to pray for some? How about the folks we don’t care so much about? How about the Tucson shooter? He makes me mad. I want justice. But pray—for him? Yeah. What about the parents of the little nine year old girl who was killed? I can’t imagine what is running through their hearts this morning? What about the people at church? The one who talks so much? The one who says the same words in every prayer he leads? The one who isn’t a good song leader? The preacher who can be boring?

  You see, Israel’s desire for a king was a rejection of Samuel’s leadership. Easily, he could have thought, you don’t want me, so, I don’t want you. But he didn’t. He felt that if he quit praying for them, it would be a sin. Praying for people who rejected you. Praying for people who disobeyed God. Praying for difficult people. Yeah. That’s what this is about.

  Praying for your family is a layup. That’s easy. Praying for those you like, simple to do. But remembering those that you may not like, or worse, that don’t like you, and praying for them, that’s tough. And to view the lack of prayer as sin, that’s amazing. Consider the neighbor who irritates you. The co-worker who thinks you are an idiot. The in-law who is obsessive. The church member who is nosey. The guy who smells. The woman who dresses terribly. We all have people like that in and around our lives. We often just ignore them or try our best to avoid them at all costs. But pray for them? Worse, to consider it a sin if we didn’t pray for them? Sure makes you think, doesn’t it. Sure kicks the old attitude.

  Having thought about this, do some praying, for these people. Pray that you will be the right example around them. Pray for your attitude toward them. Pray that they will find Jesus. Pray that God will bless them today. The list is long. You may be the only one who talks to God about them. They may not even pray for themselves. What an opportunity.

  Well, I gotta run. I have praying that I need to do.

Roger