Thorn in the flesh

After Saul, the first king of Israel, had repeatedly disobeyed the Lord, an evil spirit started to plague him. God had chosen him (1 Samuel 10:1) but was disappointed with his performance as a leader. Saul was more interested in his status than in following God's instructions, given to him by Samuel, the prophet who had anointed him as king.

Soon after Saul had been anointed the Spirit of God came upon him (1 Samuel 10:10). He had done nothing to merit such favour. But because of his rejection of God's directive, an evil spirit was sent to torment him (1 Samuel 15:23; 16:14). Saul went from bad to worse and eventually resorted to witchcraft (1 Samuel 28:7).

About one thousand years later an evil spirit tormented another Saul, also from the tribe of Benjamin. His response was very different to that of his namesake. He prayed 3 times that it would leave him, but submitted to God's will when the Lord said "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).