Prayer Works Morning Devotion: September 4, 2025

Thus Says The Lord-Who God Says He Is, His Commandments and Promises

1 Samuel 8:1-22 "And The Lord Said To Samuel, Heed The Voice Of The People In All That They Say To You; For They Have Not Rejected You, But They Have Rejected Me, That I Should Not Rein Over Them "

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A very good morning, a very good morning to you everybody. I hope you had a wonderful, restful night and ready for another day with the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we thank you this morning as we come before you.  

Help us to see you, help us to know you, help us to hear you, and give us strength and wisdom to do that which you are saying to us. 

Thank you Lord for the ability to exercise obedience in times where sometimes it's challenging and difficult, but because we know that with you all things are possible, and with you there is no losing, and with you there is hope and faith for this life's journey.  

So today as we look at these scriptures, open our eyes and our minds so that we as Christians we understand our responsibilities and we thank you for your grace and your sufficiency and we thank you for your love above all things and we bless you as we look at this word in Jesus name, Amen. 

So brothers and sisters as Christians one of the things that we need to know to grasp fully well and to walk in is that we are spiritual leaders in a dying world. That's who we are. We are not just Christians who belong into a kingdom. 

But we are actually spiritual leaders to show the rest of the world what it is to believe in God, what it is to walk with God, what it is to obey God, and what it is to do His commandments and His statutes.  

That's who we are. So, while people watch, they say the scripture says, Love one another as I have loved you. How did Jesus love us? That He will give up all things, that He will do all that is necessary to obey the Lord. 

Do everything that He needed to make sure that His relationship with God was straight up great, incredible, phenomenal. That's what he was doing. So he said, Love one another as I have loved you.  

Not only did he just love us, he loved us by being an example to us on how to be believers. That's why we are called Christians. Christ-like, that's what it means. So we are automatically, by virtue of following Jesus, become leaders in all things spiritual, so that we can be the example that other people see, watch, listen to, and observe.  

So what we are going to do today, we are in 1st Samuel 8:1-22. But in order to really understand this chapter, we need to go back and go to chapter number 1, to chapter number 7, sorry.  

So we're going to read 7 and we're going to read 8, and in between I will stop and say some things so that we all can have a reference point to where we are. So 1 Samuel 7, so the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord.  

They brought it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eliezer his son to guard the ark of the LORD. The Ark remained at Kiryas Jerem a long time, 20 years in all. So it's 20 years when the Ark of the Covenant, that is holding the Spirit of God, is at this guy's house for 20 years.  

Samuel subdued the Philistines at Mizpah. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. So they realize the Ark is missing. It hasn't been with us for, the presence of God hasn't been with us for 20 years.  

And then all the people of Israel came back to the Lord. Remember who Israel is? Israel is the chosen people. In fact, they are the Christians before Jesus shows up. So they are a representation of what I just said.  

They're supposed to show forth the rest of the world how to relate and to live with God and His presence. So they are the leaders of their era, of this era where Christians don't exist. Israel is the leaders, the chosen people that God is designed to show forth his divine authority and power through them.  

So they realized that the presence of God is not returned. Then all the people turned their back to the Lord. So Simon said to all the Israelites, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then rid yourself of the foreign gods and Ashtoreth's and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, right?  

First commandment, thou shall serve the Lord God with all the heart, only him, right? And he will deliver you out of the hands of Philistine. So the Israel put away their bows, Ashtoreth's, and served the Lord only.  

Then Samuel said, Assemble, O Israel, at Mizpah, and I'll intercede with the Lord for you. Now we are seeing what it means to be a spiritual leader in the church, interceding for people.  

When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed. We have sinned against the Lord. Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah, to show forth again.  

Spiritual leaders are the leaders of the nation, not political leaders. When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of Philistines came to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.  

They say to Samuel, do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines. Then Samuel took a suckling lamp, sacrificed it. It was a whole burnt offering to the Lord.  

He cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him. In other words, in the absence of spiritual leaders that cries out to the Lord on behalf of the people, people will perish.  

While Samuel was sacrificed in the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage in Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.  

The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set up between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus Father Lord has helped us.  

So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading Israel's territory. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.  

The towns from Ekron to God that the Philistines was captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory of the hands of Philistine and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.  

Samuel continued as Israel's leader all the days of his life. From year to year, He went on a circuit from Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel and built an altar there for the Lord.  

Spiritual leaders, interceding on behalf of the nation, the people of God, chosen people, following His statutes and commands means that the nation lives in peace. Now, one of the greatest challenges in human race is when we move from one generation to the next.  

Those transitions, if not managed well, they always bring strife to a family to a nation, to anybody who is moving from one generation to the next. So when an incoming generation is coming, usually that means spiritual leaders or leaders are getting old, that means there is incoming leadership.  

And usually incoming leadership most times is always juvenile in its thinking. Hence, those transitions are always difficult. And every nation, we are facing the same thing. We have old leadership now passing away and moving on, and there's an incoming new generation that is coming on.  

And usually in between this transition, everybody is more focused, you know, on themselves rather than on God, and usually the devil has a field day. So now we are in 1 Samuel 8:1.  

When Samuel grew old, now he's an old man, appointed his sons as Israel's leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served Beersheba.  

But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted, hold on, but his sons did not follow his ways they turned against they turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 

So all the elders of Israel gathered together hold on gathered together and came to Samuel at Rama they said to him you are old and your sons do not follow your ways, do not do not follow your ways.  

Now appoint a king to lead us such all the other nations have but when they said give us a king to lead us they displeased Samuel so now we have a problem. And the problem we have is that God has a plan for this nation. 

But you have people who think they have a different plan altogether. So they are saying to the Lord, we don't want spiritual leadership. We want a king like the rest of other nations. And why are they asking for this?  

It's because there's a transition that's going on. They say to him, You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a king to lead us, such all the other nations have. But when they said, give us a king to lead us, this displeased Samuel.  

So, he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord told him, listen to all that the people are saying to you. It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as king. So, in other words, we have a leading nation that is supposed to be spiritual leaders to show forth how to relate with God.  

But the problem is that they have left their posts. They are choosing not to follow God, rather follow other nations in whatever it is they were doing. So, as they have done from that day, I brought them up out of Egypt until this day.  

Now, the interesting thing about this is that every time you see this happening, God always refers back to when He brought them out of Egypt. In other words, He's telling them, I brought you out of Egypt for one purpose to follow me, to worship me.  

But it seems every time you forget why I brought you out. And isn't it amazing as Christians we also sometimes forget why God saved us? So that we can be spiritual leaders. Now listen to them. This is God speaking to Samuel.  

Now listen to them, but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his right. My God! Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king.  

He said, this is what the king who will reign over you, will claim as his right. Listen to this, brothers and sisters He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horsemen. 

They will run in the front of his chariots. In other words, we're going to put you up front first, just in case somebody gets killed. Your children are going to be the first. Some you were assigned to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest. 

And still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. You would take your daughters to be perfumers and cookers and bakers. You would take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 

You would take a tenth of your grain of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.  

You take a tent of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, that the Lord will not answer you in that day, that the people refused to listen to Samuel.  

No, they said, we want a king over us. Then we will be like all other nations with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles. In the previous chapter, we just heard them sending out Samuel in front of them to speak to God. 

And God comes and delivers them from the hands of Philistine. And they get this spiritual amnesia and they forgot what just took place a few years back and now they want somebody they can see.  

They want somebody they can relate to but God is not a man that you can relate to. So when Samuel heard all that people has heard, he repeated it before the Lord and the Lord answered him, listen to them and give them a king.  

In other words, I'll give you over to your own thoughts, to your own ways of thinking. Then some say to the Israel, everyone go back to your own town. Again, brothers and sisters, it's our responsibility to make sure we uphold the statutes and values that God has placed as a responsibility to show forth how to relate and to live with God.  

As we can see in these two chapters, we see when they related to God and did all God asked them to do, and now we see what happens when God gives us over to. Now, the reality is that the rest of the world, including our country, we are in trouble.  

We are not in trouble because of politics. We are in trouble because number one, the Ark of the Covenant is missing. Two, there are no priests. They are standing up and praying and interceding on behalf of the nation.  

Then three, people want kings. People want somebody they can relate to rather than God because God knows all things, He sees all things. Again, this is In these two chapters we have read, this is all happening during a transition from one generation to the next.  

And most of the things that we are going through right now is also a transition where an older generation is going out and a new generation is coming in. And when those transitions are not managed, usually the enemy comes and has a field day, and that's what he is doing.  

But the key point I'm trying to make to all of us is that if you are a believer, if you are a Christian, you have a responsibility to be a spiritual leader. In other words, you're supposed to show forth how to relate with God, and how to hear God, how to follow his statutes and commands, and how to obey him.  

Because as you so do, then that means you'll see the strife that people are going through, which means that automatically the posture that you fall back to is that of intercession on behalf of the people, which is what Samuel was doing.  

But now he's an old man. He's weak, he can do much. He can’t do things like he used to do. So intercession is no longer at the forefront of who he is because his body does not allow him to do that.  

That's why he appointed his sons. But the problem is that his sons who are living in his house were not trained properly in order to fill the role that Samuel had. So which means, number one, as we get older, we have a responsibility to train well.  

So that when these transitions happen, they are managed properly and that's from a family's perspective, from a community perspective, and from a national perspective. So we have a responsibility as Christians to know that everybody is watching and is watching on how we relate to that.  

How we obey his commands, how we obey his statutes That's what gave Samuel the ability to speak to the nation. Not because he was a prophet, but because he had a relationship with God that he showed forth.  

And every time it brought significant results for the nation, and hence everybody respected the words that came out of Samuel's mouth. So, the only way we get as believers, the only way we get the respect from those who are watching us is through the relationship that we show forth between us and God.  

Obedience, following his statutes, his commands and his values. That's our responsibility as spiritual leaders. I want to encourage you today as you go today, throughout today, read 1 Samuel 7 and read 1 Samuel 8 and really kind of get the depth of it.  

And while you are in it, just listen out to some of the scriptures that will come to your mind in the midst of reading. For example, James says we don't have because We don't know how to ask. 

And if we ask, we always ask a miss. Now, this is the same thing that's happening. They don't have because they're asking, but they're asking for the wrong thing. Isn't that all of us?  

Again, if you abide in me and are in me, then you can ask anything. So the first thing they needed to do as a nation was to do what? Abide in God, which they did in chapter 7. 

But in eight, they left that post and they end up asking for the wrong thing. That's what we all do. But again, our responsibility as believers and as Christians is to be spiritual leaders, to understand that there's a relationship that we have with God that is on full display in order for that to be an example for others to follow and to see. 

So that they too can also look at their lives and change. But again, today, as you think about this country, we are going through a transition and older generation is going out and a new generation is coming in that's number one.  

Number two, is that the Ark of the Covenant is missing. and it has been missing for a while and when the presence of God is missing the request is that you and I will return back to the Lord and we see it in chapter number seven. 

What has to happen in order to return to the Lord? We're going to give up all our gods we're going to give up all the other things and then serve Him and serve Him only. Only then that's why the scripture says, if my people who are caught by my name humble themselves and tend from their wicked ways and seek my face and pray. 

Only then will I hear them and heal their land. So all these scriptures I'm quoting, they are all in there as you see how all this plays out. But finally God gives them over to their own ways of thinking.  

And that's a very dangerous place to be, where you are devoid of the counsel of the Holy Spirit. So as believers, let's know our responsibilities and let's understand the things that we have to do in order for God's authority and power to be seen. Let us pray.  

Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning for your goodness and your mercy towards us. We thank you for all that you're doing in our lives.  

Today we simply come to you, asking you as a people to help us to follow your commands and your statutes, because we know we are spiritual leaders and we are supposed to show forth the relationship that we have with you.  

And we know by so doing, only then will people understand and see and hear and believe in the same things that we believe in. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for upholding us, even upholding this nation in this hour, where things don't seem to be going well.  

But we're going to continue looking to you, because we know your ways are higher than our ways, that you can take all this and use it for your greater good and make something great out of it.  

But above all else, we lean to you and we look to you. Now we ask you as we go throughout this day, may you bless us, may you remind us of our responsibilities and may we be quick to follow and to obey that which you have commanded us to obey.  

And we thank you for grace, love, and we thank you for peace that abounds and we thank you Lord for blessing that may you bless the works of our hands and the works of those of the one who sent us.  

Now lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one, For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen. So brothers and sisters, Have a wonderful, wonderful day.  

But today, as you go throughout today, just continue to think about your responsibilities as a believer and make sure that you are constantly executing that which God has called us to execute.  

Because we are spiritual leaders. Just as much as God chose the children of Israelite, as the nation that He will show forth His glory so let's not lose our responsibility but let's be so quick to execute we will see you tomorrow morning and we have another awesome time with the Lord. 

May the Lord bless you may the Lord bless your families may the Lord bless everything that is connected to you and may you have an awesome exciting day full of expectation, knowing that God's eyes are on the sparrow, He sees it all and we will see you tomorrow. Love you guys.