Crying Out in Prayer (1 Sam 7.5, 6, 8, 9)

“I will pray to the LORD for you.”

“Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

Background

This is the first prayer by Samuel in the story. A nearby people, the Philistines, have grown in power. They decided to wage war on Israel and were winning all the battles. The Israelites response was to bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle, believing it would turn the tide. It did not. Not only were many Israelites killed, and the nation defeated, but both sons of Eli were killed, and the Philistines captured the Ark. When Eli heard the news, he fell over and died.

The prophecy about Eli and his family had come true: he and his family were cut off from the priesthood. Yet even in the midst of all the loss, the author gives us a brief glimpse of the grace of God: the birth of a grandson of Eli. Though the punishment came, the family was not wiped out.

Usually, in such stories of defeat, someone from God tells the people why the disaster has taken place, or someone cries out to God, and God gives the reason. But not here. Perhaps the message is that God can do whatever he wants. He does not need to explain himself. Yet, having read what went before this, it is not difficult to figure out why. The loss came because of the unfaithfulness of Eli’s sons, Eli’s lack of leadership, and the faithlessness of the people. They even treated the Ark like some magic talisman with which they could make God work for them, rather than praying to Him about their situation. When we stop praying, when we fail to turn to God, it may be a sign that we have lost our way.