The Sin of Ceasing to Pray (1 Samuel 12:19–25)

Although God had not desired it, King Saul was appointed in response to the people's demands. As Israel stood at the threshold of a new beginning, Samuel delivered an important message. In essence, he declared, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.”

Why did Samuel suddenly deliver this message? First, although Samuel himself had anointed Saul as king, he must have felt deep concern about whether Saul would truly obey God's will and fulfill his responsibility faithfully. After all, this had not been God's original desire, it had begun because of the people's greed and stubborn insistence.

Second, this message became something like Samuel's will as he grew old (1 Samuel 12:2). He recognized what his most important mission would be from that point forward. Ultimately, God Himself had to protect His people, bless them, and uphold them.

Do you understand why this confession and commitment are so important? There are times when people may fail to pray. Many become so busy with their work that they lose opportunities to spend time in prayer. Yet the busier we become, the more we must make time for prayer. Only then, the transcendent power of God is revealed, and either we do not know that it becomes the masterpiece of God or we have not experienced it. When people grow old or become ill, they may no longer have the strength to pray. Yet some understand that such times can become opportunities to devote themselves to prayer. David, who wrote approximately half of the Psalms, understood this. So did Moses and Joshua, and Paul as described in 2 Corinthians 12:8–9. To understand the power and blessings of prayer properly, we must grasp two essential covenants through today's passage.

1. The foundational covenant contained in Samuel's confession and commitment. 

This is the covenant concerning what Christ does for us. Whenever we read the Bible, we must learn to see this (Luke 24:44, John 5:39). Samuel's commitment to pray for the people foreshadowed the work Christ would accomplish for us.

1) Christ became our Savior, Redeemer, and Intercessor. He delivered us from all sin, the curse, and the power of Satan (Luke 1:71, 77, Colossians 1:13–14). To accomplish this, He became our Redeemer by offering His own life for us (Hebrews 9:12). Finally, He became our eternal Mediator so that our salvation may be complete and we may obtain our eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15).

2) The essential covenant we must grasp in this passage is that Christ has become our Intercessor. He knows our wounds and weaknesses. He understands how we can fall into the traps of our own desires and succumb to Satan's temptations.

① The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is with all believers who have been saved and intercedes for us with groanings when we are weak (Romans 8:26–28).

② At the heavenly throne, Christ personally intercedes for us so that no one can bring a charge against God's people and condemn them (Romans 8:34).

③ This is the steadfast love of God emphasized throughout the Old Testament (It is God's hesed—His unfailing, covenantal love that will never abandon His people). That is why today's passage declares that Israel is God's chosen people and that He will not forsake them, for the sake of His own great name (verse 22). This is also the conclusion reflected in the five points of Calvinism, the essence of the Reformed Theology doctrine (perseverance of the saints).

3) Samuel understood what God's servants must do when God shows such mercy to His people. With the heart of God's unfailing love, Samuel resolved to continue interceding for God's people, even to the point of giving his life.

① How does the Bible describe God's response to our intercessory prayers? It describes an angel offering our prayers before the heavenly throne of God (Revelation 8:3). It also says that God appoints watchmen who will never be silent, continually interceding on behalf of His people (Isaiah 62:6–7).

② Through prayer, God works continually for us, our families and children, our church, and our fields. The sin of ceasing to pray is what prevents us from participating in this work of God.

2. The practical covenant of God contained in our prayers. 

We must hold firmly to the covenant concerning how precious our prayers are to God and what kind of prayer He desires from us and experience it throughout our lives.

1) It is the secret to enjoying our relationship with God. The Bible teaches that God has given us three spiritual identities (refer to Wednesday's message). These are identities originally given to Adam.

① We have the identity of God's children (Genesis 1:27; John 1:12; Romans 8:15–17). The relationship between a parent and child is incomparable to any other relationship. 

② We have the identity of God's servants and workers (1 Corinthians 4:1). This is the blessing of anointing. It is being used by God to fulfill His eternal plan. This is why God gives us grace, answers to prayer, and blessings. He desires us to be used as ambassadors and apostles of Christ, devoting ourselves to His work.

③ We have the identity of God's co-workers and partners. Our blessings and answers to prayer are not limited to this earthly life. When Christ returns and establishes the new heaven and new earth—the new Eden—we will stand alongside Christ as those who reign over all things (Revelation 22:5). Through covenant-based prayer, we are to enjoy these three covenants and blessings as they are fulfilled throughout our lives. This is why Jesus began by teaching His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount how to pray (Lord’s Prayer, enjoying God and His kingdom, prayer offered privately without seeking recognition, and the secret of restoring our relationships with our brothers and sisters so that nothing hinders our prayers). 

2) There are people who must take the lead for this blessing of prayer. These people are spiritual leaders. In the family, they are the parents, and in the church, they are the pastors and church officers. We must become watchmen who remain spiritually alert and pray for our families, our church, and our fields of ministry. We must also become steadfast watchtowers that cannot be shaken (Song of Songs 4:4).

① There is an enemy at work to make us continually lose sight of God's covenant and live in unbelief and disobedience. That enemy is Satan, the devil. Adam and Eve fell because of his deception, and the consequences were devastating (Romans 5:12;, John 8:44, Ephesians 2:1–3).

② Satan knows our weakpoints very well. But he will flee when we resist him and fight against him. That is because Christ has crushed the head of the devil (Genesis 3:15, 1 Corinthians 15:25, 57). He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Therefore, we must discern Satan's schemes. We must remain alert and pray at all times in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). We must guard our hearts and minds and pray with thanksgiving. The Bible promises that when we do so, the God of peace will guard our hearts and minds as well (Philippians 4:6–7).

③ This is why pastors and church officers are appointed in the church. They must take the lead in prayer, even to the point of risking their lives. They must raise the banner of Christ, our Commander in prayer, who fights for us and gives us victory. A representative example is Moses praying behind Joshua as he fought and defeated the Amalekites, while Aaron and Hur supported Moses by holding up his hands (Exodus 17:8–12). If Aaron represents an associate pastor who supports the senior pastor, then Hur represents the church elders, senior deaconesses, and deacons who serve as church officers. As they supported Moses so that he could continue praying, they and all peoples of Israel prayed together.  We know the outcome. Israel's enemy, Amalek, was decisively defeated. This is how God uses our prayers.

Conclusion - Prayer is everything that all believers and church officers, who are God's children, His servants, and His co-workers, are called to enjoy. In particular, it is the secret through which believers who hold firmly to God's covenant experience the work of that covenant being fulfilled in their lives (John 15:7, 1 Thessalonians 2:13). This is the secret of meditative prayer. Most importantly, prayer is the secret that enables us, despite our weaknesses and shortcomings, to stop being deceived, to stop having what God has given us stolen away, and to live as victors, pilgrims, and conquerors.

This is a critical hour. May you be blessed to become prayer warriors who lift up the hands of prayer and carry the banners of prayer.