It grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord ALL NIGHT.
What made Samuel so upset? Two things:
1. The Lord was sorry that He had made Saul king of Israel.
2. Saul had turned his back on the Lord.
And so Samuel cried in prayer to the Lord all night. That’s laboring fervently in prayer. That’s the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. This shows the relationship that Samuel and the Lord had, and that Samuel knew where to turn in times of trouble and distress. I wonder if Samuel’s concern was mostly because Saul had turned away from God and Samuel knew that Saul was headed for trouble. That’s the heart of a true pastor or shepherd. Oh, to be like Samuel.