The name “Samuel” means “Asked of God.” Hannah had prayed to God for a child and He answered her prayer. He did so through providence and natural law not by a miracle. Hannah and her husband Elkanah also exemplify the value of cooperation between spouses. We can also learn from this chapter that a promise made should be a promise … Read More

God spoke to His people through prophets throughout the Old Testament. Samuel teaches us the value and power of prayer. Saul teaches us the tragedy of a poor ending. And David teaches us the value of a pure heart. Saul and David were anointed king over an earthly nation but Christ would later be anointed king over a spiritual kingdom. … Read More

We need to bear one another’s burdens not add to them. We must not return evil for evil. When we pray we need to make sure we’re at peace with God and with our neighbors. We need to pray without doubting. And we can learn important lessons from solemn occasions.

We must not bind what God has not bound or loose what He has not loosed. We have to be careful not to make foolish vows. We also have a responsibility to warn those who are in danger of losing their lives or losing their souls. Whenever a decision has a spiritual aspect which needs to be considered someone needs … Read More

The Gospel should convict us to be angry about sin. We do not want to go to the grave with something bothering our conscience so we need to work to live faithfully each day and correct our errors hastily.

We should not give up in unfavorable circumstances. We need to continue to pray and pursue our goals. We must not let our problems drive us from the Lord but instead they should drive us toward Him. We must also be careful not to make snap judgments and we must not further wound those who are already hurting.

We can sin by not praying for those who request our prayers or those whose needs are known to us. We must fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all our hearts. We need to place all of our faith in God and none in ourselves. And we have to understand that there’s never a right time to … Read More

We always need to be faithful but we must not become discouraged if something goes wrong in our Christian lives. We have to put God before everyone and everything else in our lives. We need to listen to His word with careful and thoughtful attention whenever it is preached. We need to follow through with every work we plan to … Read More

We need to be careful not to damage someone else’s reputation. We must leave vengeance in God’s hands. We have to maintain humble attitudes. We should recognize that God is on His children’s side. We must love our enemies. And we have to be careful how we treat others because we may find ourselves being treated the same way.