This time around we see a whole new response. Samuel tells God's people that if they rid themselves of foreign gods and, "commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." (7: 3) So they do! And God does. How blessed are we to have a God who ALWAYS delivers? Then they are put to the test when the Philistines actually come out against them and we see God's people's beautiful response. They plead with Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” What a difference from the previous battle! They ask Samuel to keep on praying.
Have you believed the lie that prayer is the back up Christian response? When you ask someone how you can help them and they say, "pray for me," are you a bit let down? Like you wish there was something more you could do? I know I feel that way sometimes, but let's be corrected and encouraged by God's word. God's perfect word says that the, "prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 1:5)." God's unchanging word says that Jesus, "is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." There's that word again: ALWAYS. Jesus stands in the presence of your creator and intercedes...always.
Who and what will you pray for today? Will you do so with eager expectancy? Will you do so without ceasing? Let's meditate on how Red Door will grow if we continue in our commitment to these things!
O what a comfort it is to all believers that our great intercessor above never ceases, is never silent, for he always appears in the presence of God for us! ~ Matthew Henry
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