1 Samuel 1:1-28

Prayer is a powerful thing.  It is amazing to look back over the Old Testament and see how many of the great women of the faith were barren.  It demonstrates how God wants to bring His people to their knees in dependence upon Him when He is about to do something great.  Hannah longed to have a child and prayed desperately for the Lord to bless her with a child.  We know that her prayer was answered and that the answer to her prayer was a man greatly used of God to lead the entire nation through one of its most crucial periods of history.  Prayer is a vital part of God’s plan for accomplishing great things.  We must remember to pray not only when we are facing hardship, but in every aspect of life in which we seek to serve the Lord.

 THE PRAYER WAS MOTIVATED BY PROBLEMS: Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah.  This in itself was not according to the plan of God and, as expected, causes a great deal of conflict.  Polygamy was practiced in Israel and would become even more prevalent as time goes on, but it is always portrayed by Scripture as a source of great pain, problems and conflict.  The other wife had been blessed with children while Hannah was barren.  To make matters worse, the other wife would taunt her so she was in misery.  Her husband assured her of his love for her despite the fact that she did not have children, but this was of little or no consolation.  Hannah does the only thing she knows to do; the right thing, she prays.  This must be our response before the Lord in times of difficulty and at all times.  God’s ideal would have had both husband and wife praying for a child but since the other wife had already given the husband children, Hannah finds herself praying alone for the child for which she longs.

THE PRAYER WAS OFFERED WITH PROMISE: Hannah prayer and makes a promise to the Lord that if He answers her prayer, she will dedicate this child to the Lord and give him fully to the work of the Lord.  She offers herself as the means through which the Lord could raise up a man like Samson to deliver the people.  Eli, the priest, mistakes Hannah’s prayer for that of a drunken woman but when he chastises her and she defends her actions, he blesses her and assures her that the Lord has heard her prayer.  This assurance gives her great relief and she believes that the Lord will answer.  Many times we pray and even make promises but when we are done praying we continue to worry and fret over the outcome.  God is pleased when we pray in such a way that demonstrates our faith and we trust Him to provide for us instead of being filled with worry or fear.

THE PRAYER WAS ANSWERED BY PROVISION: The Lord did answer the prayer and the boy Samuel was born.  Hannah praises the Lord and fulfills her promise to Him by giving the boy for the Lord to use in the temple in any way He would choose.  All parents should recognize that all children are given as a blessing from the Lord and that they all belong to Him.  Our children must be dedicated to the service of the Lord wherever He desires to use them.  Too many parents discourage their children from ministry because it may not pay well or require them to live far from the family.  These concerns demonstrate our lack of submission to the will of God and our preoccupation with the things of this earth over the things on Heaven.  God is faithful to provide, but we must be faithful to honor Him in His provision.