photo #5568749

"Remember the Great Things God hath Done." "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you." (1 Samuel 12:23-24)Samuel is one of my favorite guys in the Bible. He was a fella who was born in answer to prayer and the rest of his life was indeed one of prayer. Oh, how we need men and women today who know how to pray.In those two verses I cited, Samuel gives us some practical instructions for you and I to emulate. But first, let's recall some past events.In 1 Samuel 10:1, Samuel had anointed Saul with a vial of oil. The Spirit of the LORD came upon Saul and at that time, he was turned into another man. Following the happening, we find Saul in the 11th chapter leading three companies of fighting men in a great victory against Nahash and the Ammonites. In the last verse of that same chapter, everyone headed for Gilgal, and it was there that they, with great rejoicing and sacrifices of peace offerings, made Saul king of Israel.Coming to chapter 12, we read where Samuel gave the children of Israel a witness and a sign to help them realize what a wicked decision it was in asking for a king. Then he encouraged them to make the best of their wrong choice with those words, "Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; (v. 20)Now, in those two verses which I posted above, that old prayer warrior, Samuel, comforts them with his promise that, even though they acted like a bunch of spiritual stinkers, he promised that he would still pray for them. He goes on to say that it would be a sin for him not to. We often think of sin as an evil action we commit, but it's also the good that we should do but don't! James 4:17 teaches us, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.Samuel also vowed to continue to teach them the good and the right way. He could have easily turned his back on those God-rejectors and said, "Alright, you've dug your own grave, so just go ahead and rot in it." But not Samuel. He goes on by saying, "Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart." We need that reminder, don't we? So many demonic distractions come our way which the devil uses in an attempt to pull us away from the Truth we have hidden in our heart.Finally, Samuel sums it all up in verse 24 by reminding them to muse over what God had wrought with those words, "for consider how GREAT THINGS he hath done for you."(caps mine in verse 24) Yes, the Lord had done GREAT THINGS for the children of Israel and His greatness extends to those He calls His children today.As Christians, you and I have a message to proclaim to our families, our friends and yes, even those would be foes; that God is good, and desires to do GREAT THINGS for them.Consider just a few of the GREAT THINGS He hath done for us through Christ:The Birth of our Saviour, the example of Jesus' life which pleased His Father, the Cross of Calvary, the empty tomb of our risen Lord, His ascension to the Right Hand of God to make intercession for His own, that glorious day when by grace we were saved and born again, the indwelling Comforter to bring the teachings of Christ to our remembrance, and our Lord's promised return.Friends, the Lord hath indeed done GREAT THINGS for you and I, and still continues doing so day after day as we journey along on that Road of Redemption. Oh, what gladness awaits those who remember the GREAT THINGS the LORD hath done!