King Saul was a serious disappointment. When we are introduced to him in 1 Samuel 9, he was impressive in his own right. Although Saul didn’t come from a great tribe of Israel, he had a powerful father, and he became the tallest and most handsome man in Israel.
But Saul wasn’t just impressive to look at. Saul also had a great sense of duty and humility. When his father lost his prized donkeys, Saul diligently looked for them. Eventually, he inquired of Samuel to seek his advice as a man of God. There, he learned of God’s plans for him to become king. His response was to ask ‘why him?’ (1 Sam. 9:21). And when it came time for him to be anointed, he didn’t rush to take power but was found hiding (1 Sam. 10:22).
However, it wasn’t long before the humble, obedient Saul became the Saul we are more familiar with. Eventually, he let his fears and pride consume his every action. He profaned the sacrifice, disobeyed God’s command to destroy the Amalekites, and sought to murder David over and over again. Saul lost God’s favor. In 1 Samuel 15:11, God declared, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned his back on Me…”
Saul had made himself as far from God as he could possibly be. So, when the Philistines rose up against him and he knew he was in trouble, he went back to Samuel, the man of God who helped all those years ago. However, Samuel was dead, and so Saul sought a witch to conjure his spirit. But Samuel’s response wasn’t what Saul wanted to hear. Samuel said, “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy?” (1 Sam. 28:16). Saul wanted good news from God, but God was no longer listening.
Many of us are familiar with the verse from James 5:16, “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” It is one of the greatest blessings of being a Christian. However, what does this imply about an unrighteous man? Proverbs 15:29 tells us that instead of hearing his prayers, “The Lord is far from the wicked…” If we stop living for God, He will stop hearing our prayers.
Many Christians have a life that looks like Saul’s. We follow God’s words, and He answers all of our prayers. At some point, we allow sin to reenter our lives. We make a few moral compromises here and there, but God still seems to be listening. So, we make more compromises. Eventually, we find ourselves living a life no different from the world except for one thing: before we lay our head on our pillow, we say our prayer and ask for God’s help. If we stop listening to God, we should not be surprised when He responds, “Why do you ask Me?”