and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
Evil often springs from good: the Philistines saw Israel's prayer gathering and thought it war, so they struck. But mark this: when sinners repent, Satan musters all his force to oppose and discourage them. Yet God turns their malice to His praise, and the threat comes precisely when Israel can meet it, fresh from making peace with God.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 7:7-12
And the children of Israel said to Samuel,.... To whom they applied, not as the general of their forces, but as the prophet of the Lord; believing his prayers for them would be of more avail to them than an army of men ever so numerous, or so well accoutred: cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us: he had been praying...
And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. (e) Signifying that in the prayers of the godly, there should be a vehement zeal.