King David, King Jesus, and Me? Inquiring of the Lord

KING DAVID, KING JESUS, AND ME?

Inquiring of the Lord

When You Don't Know What to Do, Who Do You Call?

1 Samuel 28:3–20  •  1 Samuel 30:3–8

Can I be honest with you? There have been moments in my life when I've been more desperate for an answer than I was desperate for God. I wanted the outcome. I wanted the relief. I wanted somebody — anybody — to tell me what to do next, and if I'm not careful, God becomes a vending machine I shake when the answer doesn't fall out fast enough.

Two kings faced the same kind of moment in these passages. Both were afraid. Both were desperate. Both went looking for God. But only one of them actually found Him — and the difference between the two is worth slowing down for, because it's the same difference between a prayer life that changes you and one that just uses God to get what you want.

A King Who Ran Out of Prophets

By the time we reach 1 Samuel 28, the spiritual landscape of Israel is bare. Samuel, the last great prophet, has died. The priests of Nob — eighty-five men wearing the linen ephod — were slaughtered on Saul's own order back in chapter 22, because Saul suspected them of helping David. Saul didn't just lose his access to God's voice. He's the one who silenced it.

Now the Philistine army is camped against him, and Saul is terrified. So he does what looks, on the surface, like the right thing:

"He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets."  — 1 Samuel 28:6, CSB

Let that sink in for a second. Saul prayed. And heaven stayed silent. Not because God couldn't answer — but because the relationship had been broken for so long, one prayer of convenience wasn't going to fix it. If our hearts haven't changed, our old sins have a way of resurfacing right when we need God most.

So Saul does something almost unthinkable. Years earlier, he had personally banned mediums and psychics from Israel — he knew good and well that consulting the dead was forbidden by God's own law. But desperation has a way of making us reach for the very things we once condemned. He disguises himself, finds a medium at Endor, and asks her to call up Samuel from the dead.

"Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He doesn't answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”"  — 1 Samuel 28:15, CSB

Notice what Saul actually wants. Not God's will. Not God's presence. Not even God, really. He wants a message he can use — information to save his own skin. That's the tell. Saul isn't seeking the Lord; he's trying to summon a service.

Don't Treat God Like a Genie in a Bottle

This is where I have to ask you the same question I have to ask myself: is God someone you call on, or someone you actually know? Because there's a version of faith that only shows up when the Philistines are on the hill — when the diagnosis comes back, when the marriage is falling apart, when the money runs out. We rub the lamp, we say the prayer, and we expect the genie to grant the wish and go back in the bottle until we need him again.

Saul's whole approach to God was transactional. He wanted God to bless his plans, not to reveal God's plans. That's why the third commandment matters so much more than we usually give it credit for:

"Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name."  — Exodus 20:7, CSB

Misusing God's name isn't only about cursing. It's about attaching His name to our agenda — using Him, invoking Him, name-dropping Him, while never actually submitting to Him.

Saul's pride and his sense of superiority — the same king who once cared more about his monument than his obedience — never let him get low enough to ask God what God wanted. He only ever asked what he could get.

Stop Looking for Someone to Blame

Here's a principle tucked into this story that's easy to miss: when you're facing a real problem, it is almost always useless to go looking for someone to blame or criticize. Saul spends his final chapters blaming David, blaming the Philistines, blaming his own servants — anyone but himself. And blame never once solved a single one of his problems. It just kept him from the one solution that could have.

If you're in crisis this week, ask yourself a harder question than “whose fault is this?” Ask, “What can I actually do about it, and who do I need to become to do it?” That question moves you toward a solution. Blame just moves you toward the exit.

A King Who Found Strength Before He Found a Plan

Now look at David. Chapter 30 opens with a scene that's frankly worse than Saul's. David and his men return home to Ziklag to find it burned to the ground. Every wife, every son, every daughter — gone, carried off by Amalekite raiders. His own men, grief-stricken and furious, start talking about stoning him.

"David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God."  — 1 Samuel 30:6, CSB

Before David makes a single decision, before he issues a single order, he does one thing: he strengthens himself in the Lord. Not in a strategy. Not in his own track record as a warrior. Not in the counsel of his men, who at that moment wanted him dead. In the Lord. Only after that does he ask for the ephod and inquire:

"David asked the Lord: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”"  — 1 Samuel 30:8, CSB

Same kind of crisis as Saul's. Same kind of fear. But an entirely different posture. David didn't summon an answer — he sought a relationship, and the answer followed. A proper inquiry to God is made with humility and reverence, not desperation and manipulation. That order matters more than we tend to admit.

Look Up. Let Go. Lean In.

If you've ever wondered what it actually looks like to pray the way David prayed instead of the way Saul prayed, Jesus gave us the pattern Himself in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  — Matthew 6:9–13, CSB

Three simple movements, in this order, every time:

• Look up (vv. 9–10). Prayer starts with worship, not with a request. Before you say a word about your problem, you say something about who God is and what He wants. “Your kingdom come, your will be done” has to come before “give me, forgive me, deliver me.”

• Let go (vv. 11–12). This is where repentance lives — releasing your need, your grudge, your grip on the outcome. You can't lean into God's will while you're still white-knuckling your own. Letting go isn't losing. It's what makes room for Him to actually take care of you.

• Lean in (v. 13). Only after you've looked up and let go are you actually ready to ask for guidance and lean into what God shows you — the way David leaned into “pursue them” even though every circumstance said the mission was hopeless.

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Saul skipped straight to asking. David looked up and let go first. That's the whole difference between a prayer that manipulates and a prayer that transforms.

So What About You?

Let's figure this out together. Somewhere in your life right now, there's a Philistine army on the hill — a diagnosis, a decision, a burned-down Ziklag of your own. The question isn't whether you'll pray. You will. Everybody prays when it's bad enough. The question is which king you'll pray like.

Will you reach for a medium — a shortcut, a search engine, a person who will just tell you what you want to hear — because God's silence feels unbearable? Or will you do the harder, slower thing David did: strengthen yourself in the Lord first, let go of the outcome you're clutching, and then ask?

"Bless the Lord, all his angels of great strength, who do his word, obedient to his command. Bless the Lord, all his armies, his servants who do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works in all the places where he rules. My soul, bless the Lord!"  — Psalm 103:20–22, CSB

Even the angels don't get to skip the order — bless first, then obey. If the armies of heaven lead with worship, so can we.

A HYMN FOR THIS WEEK: “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” — let it be your prayer this week, sung low and slow, until it becomes true.

The King We Actually Need

Here's the good news underneath all of this: you and I don't have to wonder whether God will answer. Saul's tragedy was standing on the wrong side of a silence that his own sin had created. But Jesus tore that curtain. He is our great High Priest, and because of Him, we never have to sneak off in the dark to find someone who can reach God on our behalf.

You already have access. The Spirit of the living God is not a medium you summon — He's a Father you belong to. Look up, let go, lean in, and trust that the silence Saul lived under is not the inheritance you were given in Christ.

Plan of Action

Faith without action is just agreement. Here's how to move this from a sermon you heard into a life you're actually living:

Daily	This Week	This Month	Ongoing
Before you ask God for anything, pray the first line of the Lord's Prayer: “Your will be done.” Mean it before you move to your list.	Name one problem you've been blaming someone else for. Write down one thing you could actually do about it, and do it.	Read through 1 Samuel 28 and 30 side by side. Journal which king's posture toward God feels more familiar to you right now, and why.	Practice Look Up, Let Go, Lean In as your prayer rhythm — worship first, surrender next, then ask for guidance.
Ask yourself: am I calling on God, or am I seeking God? Let the honest answer shape how you pray today.	Find strength in the Lord before you find a solution. Sit in His presence for five minutes before you problem-solve.	Identify any “mediums” in your own life — people, habits, or shortcuts you consult instead of God. Bring them into the light.	Return to Psalm 103:20–22 whenever you feel small. Let creation's obedience remind you Whose voice matters most.

HELP  •  HOPE  •  HOME

You don't need a medium to reach God. You have Jesus — seek Him first, and He will meet you.