Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple. In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him."
1 Samuel 1:1-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever found yourself downtrodden…frustrated…humiliated…anguished…deeply sorrowed…bitter? Have any or all of these emotions taken you down so far that you felt yourself crying out to God for help? If so, then you will be able to relate to Hannah in this passage and hopefully gain confidence and faith in knowing God does hear and answer our prayers.
As 1st Samuel opens up, we’re introduced to a typical Old Testament family although this family arrangement would be very atypical by today’s standards. For we read about a man, Elkanah, who had two wives, Hannah and Penninah, daughters and two priestly sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were all born to Penninah because Hannah’s womb was closed. You’ll remember that women who were barren were held in low esteem in Old Testament culture as childbearing was one of a woman’s primary values, particularly in bearing males that would carry on the husband’s lineage. To not be able to bear children was a humiliation and deep emotional burden to carry.
Despite Hannah’s difficulty in bearing children, Elkanah still loved her dearly and would give double portions of meat to her on the days when he had to sacrifice. Yet, no amount of meat or love from Elkanah could help Hannah in her situation and what made it even worse was Penninah, Hannah’s rival, “provoking her in order to irritate her…year after year”. In fact, scripture tells us that Penninah “provoked her till she wept and would not eat”. It wasn’t enough that Hannah already felt self conscious about her barrenness but she had Penninah rubbing it in and taking her down even further. We sense that Hannah is nearing an emotional rock bottom. Even her loving husband, not knowing about Penninah’s provocations, is confused about Hannah’s state of mind as he asks her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" He doesn’t understand that it’s not about him.
Maybe you’ve either experienced this issue or knew someone else who had. You or someone else has been already down and out…self conscious about your circumstances…and in the midst of a situation that was already bad enough, you had someone who harassed you in some way, either insulting your personally or talking behind your back about you to others. There are many people out there who, like Penninah, seem to take pleasure in hurting others.
Back to the scripture where we see Hannah near her breaking point. She hasn’t eaten and is distraught to the point where she could only weep. In her “bitterness of soul” and in eyeshot of “Eli the priest” who was “sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple”, Hannah “wept much and prayed to the Lord”, making this vow:
"O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
Hannah’s prayers weren’t simply spoken. They were much deeper than that. For as Eli watched Hannah, he saw her lips moving but no words being said. This is because Hannah was “praying with her heart” while “pouring (her) soul out to the Lord”. Eli, thinking she was drunk, challenges Hannah only to be told the truth…that she wasn’t drunk or wicked but instead “deeply troubled” and “praying…out of (her) great anguish and grief”. After hearing Hannah’s testimony, Eli tells her, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him” to which Hannah replies, “May your servant find favor in your eyes."
We don’t know right away whether Hannah’s prayers were effective in allowing her to bear a son but we do know that they helped relieve her troubled heart, mind and soul. We know because scripture tells us that her “face was no longer downcast” and she began to eat again. You see there is a peace that comes with praying the right way…praying to God with all our heart and pouring our soul out to Him. Paul, in one of my favorite passages in the Bible (Philippians 4:4-13), would later share these words in verses 6 and 7 from that passage:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
This is what Hannah found in this opening scripture from 1st Samuel…a peace that transcended understanding…a peace that took her from despair and brought her to solitude…because that’s what happens when we place our full trust in the Lord…when we decide to fully lay all our burdens at His feet and know that He is in control of all things, including our lives because He is God.
Well, as our passage closes, we read where after rising the next morning and going to worship, Elkanah and Hannah returned home where he laid down with her and in that moment, the Lord remembered Hannah and “in the course of time” she “conceived and gave birth to a son”, naming him Samuel because she had “asked the Lord for him."
Hannah’s sorrow and distress were over but only after she had prayed with her heart and poured out her soul, seeking and finding that peace of God that transcends all understanding. And the good news is that the Lord is willing and waiting to do the same for you and I. All we need to do is turn to Him and trust Him. For He is God and nothing is beyond the works of His hands. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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