The Samuel Discipline
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:19–20
“And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.”
The Samuel Discipline
Father God, we thank you because you set before your own an open door that no man can shut. We thank you because you make a way where there seems to be no way. We thank you because you have a plan and we pray today that your plan for our lives will work; that every programmed derailment of our destiny be deprogrammed in the name of Jesus. Father, we know that your plan is always better, your thoughts are always higher, and your design is always greater; for you are God alone. Lord, we confess our hunger for your plan. Holy Father, only you can satisfy. Give us the grace to live out your design, to fulfill our destiny in the order of Samuel, in Jesus’ name.
In 1 Samuel, we see a woman named Hannah who was barren. Her husband loved her anyway, but his other wife, Peninnah, provoked Hannah and caused her to fret because of her barrenness. One day Hannah turned to the Lord because of the growing bitterness of her soul. She prayed, wept, and vowed that if the Lord would look with favour upon her and give her a son, she would give him to the Lord. Hannah told the prophet Eli of her petition and Eli answered, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him,” 1 Samuel 1:17. Hannah bore a son and named him Samuel. After he was weaned, she kept her promise and took him to Eli to serve the Lord for the rest of his life.
The story of Samuel’s birth is somewhat similar to Samson’s. In Samuel’s case, his barren mother cried to God and offered Him her son that she had not even conceived: “ . . . give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head,” 1 Samuel 1:11. She dedicated him before conception.
Samuel was born and caused his mother to sing that song we love from 1 Samuel 2:2: “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”
We read about the remarkable growth of Samuel: “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord and also with men,” 1 Samuel 2:26. In chapter 3, we see that the Word of the Lord was scarce in the days of Eli. People had become so carnal that the Word of God was not flowing anymore; nothing was coming through; no prophecy, no open vision, and no revelation. But the Bible says the voice of God came to Samuel who ran to Eli and answered, “Here am I.” After the third time, Eli realized it was the Lord calling and told Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,” 1 Samuel 3:9. Samuel did so and the Lord said, “Behold I will do a thing in Israel,” verse 11. The Lord gave Samuel a prophecy about what was going to happen to Eli and to Israel. “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord,” 1 Samuel 3:19–21.
Samuel was dedicated to the Lord. He was surrendered in the temple because his mother had dedicated him, so he was given over without the influence of his parents. Eli the prophet’s sons were very irreverent, but Samuel did not follow them into sin. He stayed faithful to the call. He took the Word part of Eli and refused the world part of Eli because he was sensitive to his destiny.
Are you sensitive to your destiny? Will you bloom wherever you are planted? Samuel was planted in the house of Eli, a prophet who had fallen from grace and whose children were the epitome of irreverence and disrespect to God. But the Lord was with him and did not let any of His words fall to the ground. God stays with us when we stay with God. Are you in God’s plan for your life or have you gone the way of the world? I pray that God will give you a divine focus today and that staying in the design of the Lord will be your reality. The design of the Lord is in the Word of the Lord. May God deliver us from the Samson Syndrome and give us the Samuel Discipline in the name of Jesus.
It takes discipline to stay in the Word in this world and in today’s worldly church. I pray that God will give us the courage and the confidence to stay disciplined like Samuel so that you will fulfill your destiny.
Prayer Points:
Holy Father, I pray that you give us a divine awakening: Lord, that you give us the grace to walk your path. Deliver us from the Samson Syndrome of derailment. Keep us from playing with the enemy and dying with the enemy. Translate us, O Lord, to the Samuel Discipline; the discipline that will keep our hearts on the path of the Lord. May you have the discipline of Samuel and may you fulfill your destiny in Jesus’ name. Amen.
