On the day before the Battle of Mt. Gilboa, Saul, king of Israel, sought counsel from God.
I Samuel 28:3-6.
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that were mediums, and the wizards, out of the land.
4 And the Philistines assembled, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped in Gilboa.
5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
When God didn't answer him, Saul consulted a witch. The next day, the army of Israel suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Philistines, and Saul and three of his sons died in the battle.
I Chronicles 10:13-14.
13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, [even] against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking [counsel] of a medium, to enquire [of it]; {committed: Heb. transgressed}
14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.
Wait a minute! In I Samuel we learned that Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord didn't answer him. In I Chronicles we are told that Saul did not inquire of the Lord! What's going on here? Have we found a discrepancy in God's Word?
When we look closer, we find that there is no discrepancy. God had a very good reason for concluding that Saul "enquired not of the LORD..." And as we look at Saul's prayer life, and at how God responds to prayer, we will learn some things that may help us to develop a more effective prayer life.
The first thing we need to notice about this situation is that King Saul had developed a habit of disobedience to and rebellion against God. It began with his failure to kill all the Amalekites as God had commanded him, and grew from there to murdering a city of priests, and making attempt after attempt to track down and kill David, who God had anointed to be the next king of Israel.
Psalm 66:18.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]:
I John 3:20-22.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
The second thing is closely related to this. While Saul confessed several times that he had sinned, he never changed. Saul never made a serious effort to submit himself to God in obedience. He never asked God for forgiveness for his sins. As a result, Saul had unconfessed and unforgiven sin standing between him and God.
In II Chronicles 7:14, God explained what His conditions are for hearing His people when they pray after having been disobedient to Him.
II Chronicles 7:14.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The third thing we notice is that Saul had developed a habit of NOT asking God for help, and NOT seeking God's guidance. This has serious consequences. In the first chapter of Proverbs there is a warning that many would do well to take heed of. The warning is from "Wisdom", which is the personification of the Wisdom of God.
Proverbs 1:22-31.
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
This is one of the traps Saul fell into. He insisted on going his own way, and then, when he was in a desparate situation, tried to get emergency help from God. This is a good recipe for unanswered prayer!
Saul was not committed to waiting on the Lord's answer. Saul was for sale to the highest bidder. He needed help, and if it looked like it wasn't coming from God, he wasn't particular about where he got it.
In the book of James, there is a warning about coming to God this way.
James 1:5-8.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.
Saul didn't just waver; Saul planned ahead for God's failure to answer. Saul had an ace up his sleeve: a woman with a familiar spirit. When he didn't hear from God in the time he had given Him, he went to Plan B and consulted a witch.
In contrast, consider Manasseh, one of the worst kings Judah ever had (II Chronicles 33). He lived a life of disobedience and rebellion against God, and hastened the judgment of God against Judah. Then one day the King of Assyria came, snatched him off his throne, and threw him in his dungeon.
In this miserable situation, Manasseh did something he had never done before: he sought the Lord. The Lord heard his cry from the dungeon, and did the unthinkable: he delivered him from the dungeon and restored him to his throne. The rest of Manasseh's reign was spent trying to undo the evil he had so heartily done before his imprisonment.
Manasseh came to God with genuine repentance. Saul came to God as if nothing was wrong. Manasseh received deliverance from God. Saul suffered a crushing defeat and lost his life.
Saul is an excellent example of how NOT to pray. Let's work to make our time with God more effectual than his was.