June 08, 2020

BIBLE READING: I Samuel 7
1 Samuel 7:8
“And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Since I was a child, I remember my parents teaching me the importance of prayer. Whether we needed something, had a problem, just got in trouble, before a meal, or even something good happened, we prayed. While that was great, we prayed for everything, as a child, I did not fully understand it. At times, I did not get why we prayed so much, but as I got older, I saw the importance and the reason of why we prayed when and why. To me, that is the sweetest communication a person can have, praying to their Creator and Savior. Chapter seven, is actually really neat. We see Israel finally go to the Lord the right way! First, they confessed their faults. With Samuel’s guidance, they all met in Mizpeh, and denounced every god except the one true God. They cleansed their hearts to seek the Lord. Next, they prayed to the Lord for protection. The Philistines thought they could overthrow the Israelites again, but this time was different. The Israelites came to God the right way. God had a great victory that day, and the country was restored. What can we learn from this? The phrase, “Cease not to cry unto the Lord…” really jumped out to me. This obviously was a cry of desperation. It is very easy to let our pray life slip, but it is obvious God wants to hear from us. This is not a just talking to the Lord, but much deeper. Prayer is our heart communicating to Him. We can learn and be reminded that prayer is confession, praise, and request back to God. This is a very simple reminder and one we have heard before, but so important to maintain our relationship with our Savior. How are we communicated our heart to the Lord?

David Fulp II