Hannah Prayed
I Samuel 1:1-20
May 9, 2010
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY'S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me/We:
In the last few years I’ve shied away from preaching about mothers and motherhood, because I’ve never felt real comfortable celebrating what I call a “Hallmark Holiday.”
Also, when celebrating things like Mother’s Day, you run the risk of making certain people feel left out or pushed aside.
Women who have not been able to bear children because of physical issues, women who have never married and had children, women who have lost their children due to premature death, women who have see their children walk away from God, women who are separated from their children geographically or emotionally.
Or maybe your mother was abusive or neglectful so celebrating her isn’t something you can do.
I think it’s so easy for us to forget that there are ladies who hurt on Mother’s Day.
But in my desire to not offend, I think I may have done a disservice to those of you who are mothers, as well as those ladies who play big roles in the lives of children around you, and I don’t want you to think that I don’t appreciate you or the place God has for godly moms and mom-figures.
So anyway, today I’m going to preach a message about a particular mother that I think can actually say something to all of us today.
My hope is that Moms will especially be encouraged today to be ladies whom God can use to shape the lives of your young charges, and to give you courage when faced with the challenges that come with that.
I’m actually revisiting a message I gave 8 years ago based on this passage, and using most of the same outline.
Two reasons for that:
- I always struggle with Mother’s Day messages, and this one seemed to communicate some good things.
- Statistics say most people forget the message in the next 24 hours, so it’s safe to figure you won’t remember what I said that long ago anyway, right!
Besides, I’ve added some stuff, taken some other stuff out, and so it’ll basically be a new message, okay?
Before we get started into the Bible passage we’re using for our text today, I want to share with you “Mother’s Ten Commandments of Eating.”
1. Of all the beasts of the field, and of the fish of the sea shalt thou eat. But of the leaves of the tree, thou shalt not eat thereof. For in the day that thou eatest, thou shalt surely get a stomachache.
2. Thou shalt drink of all the good liquids I have given unto thee. Only let not thy liquids be spilled onto thy clothing nor onto they neighbor’s clothing.
3. When thou sittest in thy chair, thou shalt not place thy feet on the table nor over thine head. For that is an abomination to me.
4. Thou shalt not pour Kool-Aid over thy mashed potatoes, nor use it as a dip for thy celery, nor spill it over the floor of the place of eating.
5. When thou hast drunk of thy cup, it shall not be held to thy face as a mask, nor used to strike thy brother or thy sister upon their head.
The real danger of reading these is that it might just give some kids some bad ideas, amen? Don’t do it, kids.
6. Thou shalt not eat thy macaroni with thine hands. Neither shalt thou distribute it widely over the place where thou livest.
7. Thy brussel sprouts shalt not be made into any graven image in the place where thou eatest. That is an abomination to me.
8. When thou sittest in thine chair, thou shalt not slideth down therein.
9. Remember thy mealtime to arrive when I calleth thee. Three meals thou hast been given to cause thy borders to increase.
10. If thou keepest all these commandments I have given unto thee, thou shalt be perfect in my sight, and perfect in my neighbor’s sight. (Sermon Central)
God: 1 Samuel 1:1-20 (p. 190-191) –
Note: due to length of the passage, it won’t be on the screens)
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. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 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. 4 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. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 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.
Let me tell you right now, if there was no better argument for banning polygamy, this would be good enough, right?
All through Scripture, when multiple wives were had, there was nothing but strife. And this lady was a role model for meanies.
Can you imagine living in that house?
“I’ve got kids and you don’t! God must hate you! I get to hear my kids tell me they love me, but you’ll never get that joy. Oh, what’s the matter, dearie? Lost your appetite?”
8 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?"
9 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. 10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 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."
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
Eli made a snap judgment on someone here, and he’s about to find out how wrong he was. Let’s continue:
15 "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. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 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.
19 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. 20 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."
The rest of the story is that Samuel grew up to be a powerful judge and prophet in Israel, and was used by God to help bring David to the throne after God rejected Saul for his disobedience.
You: Four lessons we can learn from Hannah:
1. Pray Persistently.
Hannah set her sights on praying for a son. She purposed in her heart to beg the Lord to give her this blessing.
I might add that if she had read what a researcher in Finland found a few years back, she might have prayed for a girl, since he found that boys may actually shorten the life-span of mothers. True!
Anyway, she was not going to be persuaded, even in the face of the encouragement of a husband who loved her and saw her pain, and expressed his love for her.
And she persisted even in the face of persecution and ridicule from the other wife.
She would not be persuaded by the high priest, who thought she was drunk.
Her lesson to mothers, and to all of us, is to pray persistently.
If God has laid something on your heart, then go for it.
The Bible says that if we pray according to God’s will, He hears, and He grants that what we have asked.
So pray persistently.
Second,…
2. Pray Specifically.
Hannah prayed for a son. But not just a son, but one who would grow up to be a servant of God.
Moms and mom-figures: are you praying specifically for your children serve God? How about you, dads?
Are you praying that they will serve God in all circumstances?
Are you praying that if they marry it will be to a godly spouse who loves and serves Jesus with all their heart?
I gotta admit I don’t pray for that nearly enough. Maybe it’s because I’ve pretty much convinced my girls that no guy will pass my inspection – and that’s if they pass their brothers’ inspection.
My weeding-out process is pretty intense.
Are you praying that your kids will be a blessing to all they meet?
Hannah could have said, “Give me a son, so I can be happy.” “Give me a son so my husband will be happy.” “Give me a son so I can shut up that other woman.” “Just give me a son.”
But she went beyond that. She knew what she wanted, and prayed specifically for it.
Pray specifically for your children and what you want to see God do in them and through them.
I think one of the greatest gifts moms can give their children is their prayers that God would transform them into someone God can use to affect other people’s eternity for Christ.
Pray for them in the good times and the bad times.
There are scores of examples out there of godly women who prayed for their children, and God has kept those children safe in the midst of danger, has brought those children to faith in Jesus, and has brought children back to Christ after they have walked away.
The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous man is effective. I think that the prayer of a righteous mom or mom-figure is effective.
So pray specifically for your kids.
Next…
3. Pray Expectantly.
Hannah’s attitude was one of expectancy. She didn’t feel that she was praying to a weak or powerless god, like the gods of the nations surrounding Israel.
She knew she was praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one who had delivered Israel from the clutches of Pharaoh, and had brought them to the Promised Land.
She knew that God was capable of bringing her request to fruition, so she prayed expecting Him to do it.
God has given us many great and precious promises in His Word, that we can claim and expect God to fulfill in our lives.
But let me caution you here, and I want all of us to hear this.
God is the all-powerful God, not an all-powerful genie who hops at your beck and call to just give you whatever you want because you’ve got all the faith in the world and you used the magic words, “in Jesus’ name.”
Hannah here is a great example of someone who recognizes that the all-powerful God isn’t someone you make demands of, but someone you come to humbly, asking that He would grant that request.
Most of you know if you’ve been here a while that I think that it’s just plain stupid to make demands of God and to order Him around because you’ve got some whacked out theology of prayer that says God is just waiting to serve you like some kind of waiter at a restaurant because you’ve got the “right kind of faith” or something.
God isn’t your genie. He is God.
That’s one of the reasons so many people think God isn’t answering their prayers. They’re demanding God to do stuff for them, and when He doesn’t hop right to it, they think God’s fallen down on the job and they get mad and disappointed with Him.
They never see that it’s their own lack of humility and their ignorance of the way God works in prayer.
But in saying that, I don’t want you to not pray big prayers. I think you should. Just don’t have a demanding heart when you do it.
I wish more people would pray big prayers, especially as it relates to this church and what God can do through us.
Pray big prayers for your kids. Pray that God would use them to impact hundreds and thousands of people for Jesus.
Pray that God would do whatever it takes to draw them to Christ or to draw them back to Christ.
Pray like God can do it.
Now remember, God doesn’t promise to always answer our prayers the way we want, but He does promise to answer.
But pray with the idea that the all-powerful God is listening, hears your heart, and is willing to act on your behalf, just as He did in the case of Hannah.
4. Pray “Glory-ingly”
I really tried to come up with a different term for this point, but couldn’t come up with it.
After the message, if you have one I can use, let me know and when I preach this message again in eight years I’ll use that one, okay?
Look back with me at verse 11 –
"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."
Basically, Hannah says that I will give You the glory for granting this request of mine.
In fact, I’ll go so far as to give Him back to You so He can serve You all His days.
Folks, let me ask you something. How often have you, like me, asked God for something, maybe even something huge, God grants it, and then after a quick thank-you, we’re moving on all excited but forgetting to give glory to God in praise, thanks, and in telling others how God has moved on your behalf?
We can all use some help in that area.
We haven’t read this portion, but here’s how this chapter ends –
25 After the sacrifice they took the child to Eli.
26 "Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked him. "I am the woman who stood here that time praying to the Lord! 27 I asked him to give me this child, and he has given me my request; 28 and now I am giving him to the Lord for as long as he lives." So she left him there at the Tabernacle for the Lord to use.
She testified to Eli that God had granted her request. She made it known that God had blessed her and that He had heard her cries.
And in this case, she gave the son she had prayed for back to God in an actual physical way by taking him to the temple to serve God there.
Bottom line: she didn’t just pray for herself, she prayed that God would get glory.
And if you read the first few verses of the next chapter, you can read her prayer of thanksgiving and praise.
Conclusion
Moms, and mom-figures, you have an incredibly important role to play in the lives of those around you, especially in the lives of the children God has placed in your lives whether through birth, adoption, foster-parenting, through being an aunt or just a good neighbor or family friend.
Your influence is immeasurable, and I believe that if you will take the time to pray for the children in your life like we’ve talked about today, then you can be instrumental in God’s working in those kids, for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.
Please don’t take that lightly.
One thing that gets pressed into my heart more and more is that most people come to know Jesus before their 18th birthday.
Your involvement and your prayers can make all the difference in a young person’s eternal destiny.
Be part of that person coming to Jesus. That person will be grateful forever, and God will be glorified through it.
Let’s pray.
