So what did Hannah do? She prayed! But Hannah didn’t just pray a selfish, generic prayer that we are all guilty of praying at one time or another. “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…” 1 Samuel 1:10-11 It goes on to tell us that Eli the priest had witnessed her praying and when he observed her mouth moving but no words coming out, he thought she was drunk! “Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.” 1 Samuel 1:13 When Eli confronted her about this she then told him “…I was pouring out my soul to the LORD” 1 Samuel 1:15 I believe Hannah prayed with every fiber of her being, believing that the Lord Almighty would deliver her from this downcast place. She unselfishly declared her place, as “his servant” and vowed that if the Lord would give her a son that she would in turn give him to the Lord. Hannah knew she was merely a servant of the Lord Almighty. Hannah knew that it was not through any power of her own barren womb that she could conceive but rather through a miraculous movement of the Lord. Hannah knew that if she was to bear a son, that he would rightfully belong to the Lord. We could all learn a lot about praying unselfishly through Hannah’s prayer!
After Eli finds out Hannah was in fact praying her heart out, he said to her “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:17 Then Hannah did something that I know I, and I believe many others struggle with - she waited on God. “Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” 1 Samuel 1:18 She didn’t continue to mourn or weep, she was no longer downcast. She ate and went on her way. Hannah poured out her soul to the LORD then she waited on Him to answer. Looking at the thesaurus, other words for waited can be anticipated, expected, and presumed. Presumed also means to believe!
Are you feeling barren of something? Whether it is physically or spiritually the definition of barren is “lacking something”. What do you feel you are lacking that is causing your soul to be downcast? This may even be something that has gone on for years and years, taunting you, making you feel like you aren’t good enough or aren’t able to fulfill your divine purpose. Today, learn from Hannah, pour out your soul to the LORD Almighty who is capable and strong and willing to work on behalf of those who love Him! Be willing to give the LORD what is rightfully His in return. In modern times this will look different that Hannah’s literal giving her son to the priest but we can still do this. Pray to God and He will show you how this should look for you. After you’ve presented your heart to the LORD Almighty, wait for Him, expect Him, believe that He will show up. Be willing to accept whatever answer He gives you in the time that He chooses to answer it! May the God that intervened on Hannah’s behalf and gave her a son, bless you and show Himself mighty through your circumstance!
“Elkanah lay with 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 1:19-20
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