The Israelites sinned against God by rejecting His direct rule through Samuel. Instead, they demanded a king "such as all the other nations have" (1 Sam 8:5). Choosing to have a king like the other nations would place them outside God's will in this matter and would produce the kind of consequences that come from rebellion against God.
Nonetheless, Samuel would not turn from them, he would fail to continue his work of intercession for the people as a priest of Almighty God. Samuel declared to the people, "far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you" (1 Sam 12:23). Despite Israel's rejection of God and the tacit rejection of him as their leader, Samuel continued to faithfully pray for them as God desired.
You may have been praying for a spouse or a child or a friend, who time after time chooses to turn their back on God and resist your intercession on their behalf. You may have reached the point where you wonder if there is any point in continuing those prayers. The answer is yes! To begin with, there is always hope as long the breath of life is in them and, more importantly, is is God's will that we pray for one another.
We are even called to continue in prayer for "kings and all those in authority" (1 Tim 2:2), and goodness knows how hopeless most of our political leaders seem to be. I pray dail for Preident Obama, Speaker Boehner and Leader Reed - I can't see them changing but I know they can be changed by God's mighty power.
Regardless of how hopeless it seems to be, prayer always has the potential to change anything or anyone. It only makes sense to keep on keeping on - be faithful in prayer.
Jus' Sayn.
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