Pray Like Hannah

Hannah had a need. Hannah was married to Elkanah, but she had a rival. His other

wife, Penninah. Penninah had children, but Hannah had none. And in this culture,

your worth was tied to whether you had children or not. Her rival was her enemy,

and she taunted Hannah. (But please don’t get sidetracked about the different

ancient culture. That’s not the point of this post.) And as I am reading this story in

I Samuel, it occurs to me, that God wanted Hannah to get to a point of

desperation, so that she would turn to Him. He could have given her children at

any time, but He wanted her to pray this prayer of desperation, not just for

herself, but also as a model for us!

The things that we read in the Old Testament are written as examples for us.

They teach us what God is like, and what He will do or can do in different

situations. He is honored when we pray! So this is what I noticed about Hannah’s

prayer:

-we are told what her feelings were, and she brought them to God. Her heart is

broken. She was motivated by her deep hurt, anguish, and resentment toward

her rival. I think sometimes we think we aren’t supposed to feel those things, but

we do feel them! Who hasn’t been wounded by someone else? It’s real, and God

wants us to bring it to Him.

-she pours out her heart before the Lord. He wants to hear it all! He cares! When

I was living my life to please only myself (in a desperate attempt to be happy

without God) I told myself that God didn’t care about me. But that was a lie the

enemy kept telling me. And he was successful in deceiving me as long as I did not

open my Bible and get to know God. I have said before that I had it all wrong-

once I opened my Bible and started to read, the miracle in my heart started to

happen. I now believe God cares about everything that matters to me.

-she makes her specific request to God and includes a promise on her part. She

is pleading with God for a child, and God wanted her to get to this desperate so

that she was willing for this child to be raised only to be given back to Him, and as

Hannah was desperate she made this promise to God: ‘Making a vow, she

pleaded, ‘Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction,

remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the

Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.’’ (I Sam 1:11). We are

told that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us because we do not know how to pray as

we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.

(Romans 8:26).

What if Hannah needed to get to this place of desperation to pray

this specific prayer according to the will of God and grow her faith?

(Spoiler alert: because not only does God answer her prayer, but this very child

walks with God and ends up leading Israel for all the days of his life. He was a

prophet, priest, judge, and military leader! He was the last of Israel’s judges, so he

was no ordinary child.) Can you imagine how Hannah must have felt as she

watched her child grow in godliness and power at the same time? How she must

have thanked God for her answered prayer over and over? How honored she was

to be his mother? How her enemy was humiliated by God’s answer to Hannah’s

prayer: maybe you’re at a point of desperation and ready to pray for God’s will in

your situation like she was! This happened to me in my own life when my

husband’s addiction had reached the point that I finally moved out. But what was

in my heart was: how can I honor God in this situation? I no longer worried about

what anyone thought, or how I could save my marriage, all that became second to

being right with God. Because I was in the word I was now praying a prayer that

honored Him and told Him that I was willing to go wherever He wanted. (and, it

turns out that His will was that my husband was saved as well as me and second

to that: our marriage. I just needed to get to a place where I wanted what He

wanted more than anything else.)

-after she prayed, she was able to eat, and her face no longer looked

despondent. So back to her prayer, it’s not answered yet. But Hannah modeled

for us what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6. ‘Don’t worry about anything, but in

everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests

to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your

hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’ She doesn’t have what she asked for, but God

has filled her with peace while she waits. I want that too! I want to be someone

who brings my requests to God and waits peacefully while He works! Don’t miss

what Paul said right after he told us that we would have peace as we bring our

requests to God: He said in Philippians 4:8 to guard what you dwell on! Think

about these things: whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable-

morally excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. Stop dwelling on our problems and start dwelling on who God is. This might

take a little practice at first, because what is ‘natural’ comes easiest. To dwell on

the problem in front of you. But what is counter-intuitive is what God says. And

He is right, our enemy is a liar. So, practice remembering what God has already

done for you. Your life will change! Mine did.

-her prayer was answered, and she kept her word. (I noticed also that she had

her husband’s full support. He not only loved her: he respected her and honored

her prayer). So, she had about 3 years with Samuel. This must have been hard,

but she kept her word! She meant it when she prayed. This honors God too. True,

we are sinners and don’t always do what we say we will do, but we need to make

every effort to live a life that is in awe of God for both his goodness to us: and for

His sovereignty, power, and authority! Don’t treat Him casually!

-she praises Him for answering her prayer. When she dropped Samuel off at

Shiloh, her heart was filled with praise for God. She honors Him for who He is!

There is no one besides Him! He lifted her up and sat her with nobles! She exalted

and honored him, and He in turn honored her. We are told in Psalm 91 that the

Lord honors those who honor Him. And here Hannah says: ‘He raises the poor

from the dust and lifts the needy from the trash heap. He seats them with

noblemen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are

the Lord’s; he has set the world on them (I Samuel 2:8). So, when God answers

your prayer, don’t forget to thank Him! Tell everyone what He has done for you!

-she gives to God first, and He gives her what she needs. This is almost like a

postscript, but look at what else God did for Hannah. He knew He wired her to

want children. We are told that God paid attention to Hannah’s need and He gave

her three sons and two daughters. He cares and He provides for those who honor

Him first. It says, “God saw her need.” What a wonderfully kind God we serve. He sees you and maybe you’ve been trained to feel selfish for hearts desires, but our perfect high priest understands our hearts longings and has compassion on us. Pray like Hannah and get excited about what God has for you.