Prayer of Hannah

This story of Hannah is beautifully told in 1 Samuel 1&2. Hannah and Peninnah were the two wives of Elkanah. Hannah must have been the first wife and because she could not bear children, Elkanah must have married Peninnah. But Elkanah loved Hannah!

From what we see in the biblical account, Peninnah seems to be a little mean since she was always needling Hannah, making her sad. But it was Hannah who was childless!

Year after year, Elkanah took his whole family, Peninnah, her children and Hannah to Shiloh to worship the Lord. Year after year Peninnah was getting children. But Hannah did not turn away from God in bitterness.

Hannah desperately wanted to give her husband children, making her score even with Peninnah. In the eastern culture, a woman’s worth is measured in terms of the number of children or sons she can give her husband. But God was waiting!

Finally, we see Hannah making an extraordinary vow. We read about the vow in 1 Samuel 1:11. Hannah said that if God gave her a son, she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life and that no razor will ever be used on his head.

Usually, even the Levitical dedication was from the 30th year to the 50th year of one’s life. The vow of the Nazarene was also usually taken for a short period only, say 30 or 60 days. As a Nazarite, not only a person cannot taste any product of the grapevine but also cannot defile oneself with the dead. This meant, Samuel may not even be able to attend the funeral of Elkanah or Hannah!

Now Hannah was ready to dedicate Samuel completely to the Lord, all the days of his life.

While Hannah was looking for a son to give her husband, God was looking for a Prophet to give His people! When Hannah’s prayer matched God’s plan, God answered her prayer!

My friend, what are you praying for today? Sit at the feet of the Lord and examine your heart. Is it something so that we can get one over our competitor or is it something so that someone will be taught a lesson? Sometimes our prayers are directions to the Lord on how He should answer our prayers!

Let us today allow the Lord to fulfill His plan for us in our lives for His plans are always the best. When our prayers match God’s plan for us, God will surely answer our prayer!

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 14th November 2017 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 15th November 2017

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