1st Samuel 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
This passage shows us that when very important decisions need to be made by the Christian, we should always take the matter to God in prayer and wait for His answer before going out on a limb and doing what we feel is best. In this particular instance, the elders came to Samuel with a valid point concerning his sons, who lacked the consecration, commitment and godliness to take over from where Samuel was about to leave off, and Samuel knowing that what they said was true, had no problem with the first part of their statement. But when on account of his sons' unfaithfulness, they walked contrary to God's revealed will by asking for a king, then the request displeased Samuel very much, for no matter how negatively charged circumstances may be, we are never to depart from a plain "Thus saith The Lord".
What is worthy of note is that although Samuel was obviously very upset about their request, he still decided to pray about the matter, not allowing his feelings and emotions to get in the way of humble, contrite prayer, and it was when he thus sought the Lord for guidance in this sensitive matter, that the Lord hearkened and answered him.
This experience of Samuel is full of instruction for us today, for we are sometimes faced with daunting situations which may be negatively charged, and in the heat of the moment we may forget to humble ourselves and pray objectively, waiting for God to answer in His own time and way, and thus we sometimes like Naaman go away in a rage, leaving Christ at the altar, and out of our thoughts and planning. Whenever as Christians we are beset with doubts and saddled with disappointments, let's remember the example of Samuel, who prayed in the heat of the moment, and thereby received a direct answer from God, who has promised to both hear and answer us when we cry unto Him. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to take all of our concerns to God for resolution, for if we seek Him in sincerity and truth, He will answer according to His good will. Let's read:
Isaiah 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
May we learn the important lesson of waiting upon God in all situations, for His will is revealed unto those who continuously trust in Him. God bless!