Praying All of Scripture: 1 Samuel
Author: Daniel Owens, PhD
June 10, 2026
Ninth in a series.
1 Samuel 2:9–10
9“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
1 Samuel 2:35
35“And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.”
1 Samuel 8:4–5
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
1 Samuel 9:17
17When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”
1 Samuel 12:14–15
14“If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.”
1 Samuel 15:22–23
22And 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. 23For 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.”
1 Samuel 17:45–47
45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
1 Samuel 28:17–19
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. 18Because 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. 19Moreover, 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.”
***
America was founded from an antiroyalist perspective. The slogan “No taxation without representation” drips with antiroyalist sentiment, locating the authority to rule in the consent of the governed. And there is some wisdom in that arrangement. But the prophetic perspective at the end of the Book of Judges is that a morality determined by democracy will tend toward anarchy. Whenever we become the judge of what is good, society tends toward disaster. First Samuel shows us how much we need God’s perspective and God’s rule instead.
Ostensibly, the books of Samuel present the rise of the monarchy in Israel, presented as a response to the moral and spiritual decay of the Judges period. But, while the reign of Saul is introduced in 1 Samuel, and the reign of David begins in earnest in 2 Samuel, it is the reign of God that continues to be the key factor for good in Israel.
The book begins with a God-fearing woman named Hannah, who pleads to God for a child. When she receives a son, she expresses her thanks in a way that anticipates two key themes: God’s king and the true power behind the king, which is God himself (1 Sam. 2:9–10). In the course of the book, God responds to and guides the rulers of his people. He begins with Eli’s priestly family, which invites prophetic condemnation. This prophetic word also evokes the promise of a faithful priest who would serve alongside God’s king, which in part anticipates Samuel (1 Sam. 2:35). When the people ask for a king, they request one just like the nations and unlike Samuel’s own sons (1 Sam. 8:4–5).
The first king is Saul, a man of attractive physical characteristics (1 Sam. 9:2) and the one whom God chooses (1 Sam. 9:17). Yet even as Samuel challenges the people to obedience to God (1 Sam. 12:14–15), Saul falls into disobedience such that God rejects him as king (1 Sam. 15:22–23). Then comes God’s second king, David (1 Sam. 16:12–13). In his first battle against God’s enemies, David relies on God’s help to gain victory (1 Sam. 17:45–47). Although David’s path to the throne is not without failures of nerve and faith, Saul’s rejection is complete, and God supports his future king (1 Sam. 28:17–19).
What becomes clear over the course of 1 Samuel is that, just as people fail when they try to decide morality for themselves, kings also fail when they try to rule by their own wisdom and power. The solution is not a new and better king to rule like the kings of the nations but rather a godly king who rules in complete obedience to the Heavenly King. The rise of the monarchy in Israel displays God’s faithfulness and sovereign rule, as well as his people’s need for a king who truly honors God as King. This paves the way for Jesus, the Anointed One who perfectly obeys and proves to be the man after God’s own heart, without exception.
And so we can pray,
O God, the Great King, the one who has spoken clearly through his prophets, guided his people through his word to fear him and obey his word, and chosen his King to rule in faith and obedience, we pray that we might see Jesus for who he is, the Man of your own choosing, in whom is your delight and through whom we know you more fully. Help us to trust him and to obey his word, that our lives may ever more reflect your holiness and show your glory to a world always chasing human wisdom and power. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Daniel Owens is NCC’s Pastor of Discipleship. Earlier chapters in this series will be found in the NCC Blog.
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