A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Samuel 28.
In the middle of a phone conversation, I realize I’m talking to myself. Either my phone has dropped the connection. I take connectivity for granted until I drive through a dead zone with little or no cell service.
King Saul experienced the same thing. When the enemy gathers for attack, Saul is shaking in his boots. It gets worse. “Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him” (1 Samuel 28:6). The prophet Samuel has died, so Saul tries everything he can think of, from prophets to dreams. Nothing. Crickets.
Saul turns to the occult. He finds a medium. When she conjures up the spirit of Samuel, the prophet wants to know, “Why are you bothering me?”
Saul replies, “God has abandoned me and no longer answers me” (18:15).
What did you expect, Saul? Samuel reminds him, “The Lord has done just as He spoke through me” (28:17). Remember, Saul? “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel” (15:26).
You never listened to God before. And you’re not going to hear from him now, either. You got exactly what you wanted.
What hinders our prayers? Here’s a few things:
Insincere worship. “Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58:4).
Unconfessed sin. “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18).
Wrong motives. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3).
Ignoring God’s word. If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
Saul’s experience reminds me that if I feel like God has abandoned me, I need to consider how I’ve abandoned him.
Waite for it... 