Unanswered Prayer 1 Samuel 28:1-25 Ed Hatch, Pastor Palermo Christian Church March 12, 2017 Prayer, or talking to God, is an important part of our Christian lives. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Talking to God should be as normal as talking to our husbands, wives, children or friends. It should also be as often. When we see something good, we should give thanks to God. When we have a problem, God should be the first one to hear about it. When we need wisdom, we go to God. When we need forgiveness, we thank God it has already been given. Some have called this practicing the presence of God. We are aware of God continually. When I need help with the Internet or phone issues, I call Terry. I know he will help. When we have problems with the PA system, I talk to Mike. He is a storehouse of information. When we need help, we talk to God. One problem we face is that though we talk to God, we don t always get immediate answers. Sometimes we don t get what we ask for. We pray for someone with a sickness, only to see him or her die. We pray for a job and we are told that they gave it to someone else. This morning I want to look at a person who prayed to God and got an answer that he didn t like. His answer was not in response to prayer, rather in response to his own persistence in seeking out an immediate answer. I want to look at the story from the Bible. Then I want to go back to the story and pull out some lessons we can learn. First, the story: 1 Samuel 28:1 25 (ESV) 1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army. 2 David said to Achish, Very well, you shall know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life. 3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
7 Then Saul said to his servants, Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a medium at En-dor. 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you. 9 The woman said to him, Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death? 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. 11 Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? He said, Bring up Samuel for me. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? You are Saul. 13 The king said to her, Do not be afraid. What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 14 He said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. 15 Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. 16 And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. 20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. 23 He refused and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, 25 and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
Second, the lessons: The first lesson we learn is that sin destroys the promise of answered prayer. 16 And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? Why did the Lord turn from Saul? 1 Samuel 15:20 23 (ESV) 20 And Saul said to Samuel, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king. Saul lies. He blames the people for his own actions. He said the people brought the animals to sacrifice. First, they kept the best of the animals in order to keep the best of the animals. Saul adds on this sacrifice aspect to make his sin look spiritual. Second, Saul was the leader of the group of people who wanted to keep the best animals. In truth, Saul was not interested in obeying God. He was doing what he wanted to do. He knew what God said. He knew what he wanted to do. We often face that same dilemma. The question we have when we face unanswered prayer is, What next? Are we going to obey God or do what we want? Samuel s answer is specifically tied to today s text. 22 And Samuel said, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. We can put a lot of money in the offering plate. We can serve on committees and projects. But if we do these things and do not obey the voice of the Lord, we sin. Disobedience is called rebellion. We don t use this much anymore. Growing up I remember hearing about rebellious children. Now they are dysfunctional, have some kind of disability or whatever. These things may factor in, but if we know what God wants us to do and don t do it, we are rebellious.
Rebellion is as the sin of divination. The KJV says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft What do we find in 1 Samuel 28:7 8 (ESV) 7 Then Saul said to his servants, Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a medium at En-dor. 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you. The thread of Saul s life was this same besetting sin. He did not obey the voice of the Lord. Did he know it was wrong to go t mediums and the like? Yes, he had condemned it openly. He is now doing what he had told others not to do. He is in a bad spot. The Philistines are going to attack. There will be a battle the next day. He wants to know what to do. Samuel is dead and God is silent. He has to have an answer, so he does what he wants. He does not hold firm to what he knows is right. This leads us to the second lesson. The second lesson is that our true heart is seen in what we do when God is silent. God didn t make Saul disobey. It was in Saul s heart to do what Saul wanted to do. It was not in Saul s heart to please the Lord. We might not have known it. We would have applauded his efforts to pray. We would have wanted him to get a good answer from God. God knows our hearts. He knows who is true and who is phony. Jesus said, Matthew 7:21 23 (ESV) 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? 23 And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. This fits Saul to a T. He prays. He doesn t do the will of the father. In other words, some people follow Jesus as long as his will is their will. When His will is not their will, they turn to something else. It s no wonder that God doesn t answer their prayers. Saul s trip to the medium reveals his heart. He doesn t have a heart for God. He has a heart for Saul.
The third lesson is an aside. The spiritual world enters the physical world through people. We want people to see Jesus. How will they see Jesus? They will see him through us. Saul wants to see Samuel. How does he see Samuel? He sees Samuel through a medium. Some people think that witches and mediums are all phony. They see them as fun. The Bible takes a different view. There are a lot of phony people out there. Not all the occult brings the spirit world into contact with the physical world. But it happens. This woman at Endor had seen many clients. I m sure she made a decent living off her endeavors. It is entirely possible that she made contact with the demon world. If you hear some of these people who supposedly talk to the dead on behalf of their clients, you will find that they purport to reveal secrets that no one knows. The Bible tells us that there is a spiritual world and that though no one else may hear what took place between you and grandma, the demons did. Satan appears as an angel of light. He doesn t mind giving people something that is good if it will move them away from the true God and our savior, Jesus Christ. Two things happen in this story that were different for this woman. The first is that when she called for Samuel, he came. That was a shocker for her. This was not phony, this was a real appearance. The demons might deceive, but this was the real deal. Second, this person she called up didn t talk just to her. He also talked to Saul. Samuel speaks directly to Saul. It appears she might even have left the room. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. We come to the same situation that Saul was in. Don t play around with the things God forbids. If you say, Ed, you are making too much of this, read this passage again. God doesn t approve. How can we say we love God when from our hearts we deliberately decide to disobey his commands? Saul did not get good news. Samuel told him all he needed to know. First, he would fight the next day. Second, he would die. This is not what Saul wanted to hear and it left him terrified. Every word came true. The next day he fought. The next day he died. Saul s prayer was unanswered. He called to God and God did not give him an answer. He treated God like a vending machine. When he was in trouble, he asked God for help. When things were going well, God was far from the scene. He did not have a real heart to please God. He did have a real heart to please himself. David said,
Psalm 66:18 (ESV) 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Saul had not intention of following God. He wanted God to do his will; he did not want to do the will of God. God knows our hearts. If we do not want to do the will of God and are selfcentered, God knows. We may sound very spiritual to others, but God knows our hearts. Sometimes God does answer the prayers of those who are self-centered. But what obligation would he have to have you tell him what to do? Our relationship is mixed up if we are the ones telling God what to do. Our hearts are seen by how we react when God is silent. Do we trust God even when he doesn t speak clearly? God has a perfect time for everything. Saul runs to the witch at Endor. He has banned them and now he seeks them out. He did not understand what the Psalmist knew, Psalm 46:10 (ESV) 10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! We have a choice to make. Are we going to trust God? Are we going to trust God when he answers our prayers the way we want? Are we going to trust God when he seems silent? Are we going to trust God when we get answers we don t like? It all comes down to our hearts. The more our hearts are in tune with God, the more our faith allows us to live at peace in this wicked world.