Who do you think you pray to?
As we are all aware of... there are several different religions in the world today. Every religion branches out into hundreds of other religions... and so on and so fourth. Therefore, there are jillions of people out there who DON'T pray to our God, the Father of Jesus, the creator.
Differences are good sometimes. It's good for everyone to have different opinions, so the world becomes well rounded. Opinions can differ... and that can be a very good thing.
But what about facts? What about things that we know in our hearts are right, and we see several people every single day that simply are unaware of the truth? For example, (you guessed it,) Christians. We see tons of people who either don't know about Jesus, or know about Him, but refuse to believe in Him.
That's what happened in today's reading. Read it, if you haven't already. Only four short chapters.
So, Samuel is the judge of the land, and in case you don't know exactly what a judge is -- it's like a mediator that looks over a piece of land... they don't "rule" per say, but they do help people and steer them in the right direction.
Anyway, Samuel is a good judge for the land, and when he became old, he gave his leadership to his sons, who screwed it all up. They were greedy and mixed up their duties, and the people (meaning the Israelites,) got pretty angry!
Instead of thinking it through, and praying about it, they completely blamed Samuel, demanding for there to be a king issued for the nation, instead of Samuel's brothers. The Israelites did what most people do when begging, they complained that "all the other nations had them," and that "they NEEDed a king."
That's where the were wrong. I think all of the Israelites' eyes were opened that there IS God that could take care of them in this situation, but refuded to listen. Just like the people out there that swear there's NOT a God, even though they know there are miracles and proof! The Israelites were faced with a problem, and instead of praying about it... like most people today they just shut down and decided they needed something different. It's almost like the doubted God and stopped believing.
God got pretty mind-tricking and decided if they wanted a God, then they'd get one. I think He knew along that it won't work out... but it's what His people wanted, so He was going to show them exactly what they asked for.
I think that's a lot of what people do today, too. They shut down when things don't go their way, and when their prayers don't get answered. It's our job to steer them along the right path, just like Samuel, the judge.
Comprendo? I hope so. Let me know if you're confused. Go, then! Be a judge!
Peace.
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