HANNAH'S PRAYER
INTRODUCTION: Today we'll be talking about a wonderful woman of faith; her name is Hannah. For the Jewish people Hannah is a pivotal person when it comes to the area of prayer. On Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) her story is read as one of the most important passages of the day. Today we'll be looking at her story so we can gain an understanding about this remarkable woman and see what we take away from it.
1) I'm not drunk; I'm praying!
The book of 1st Samuel starts by giving the background that led up to his birth. There was a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah was able to produce children but Hannah was not. The not-so-nice Peninnah would provoke and irritate Hannah over it. I'm sure it was painful for Hannah to endure-having to watch the dynamic of loving children surrounding Peninnah and Elkanah and Hannah over there by herself.
1:7 says that this went on for years and it specifically mentions Peninnah as Hannah's rival who aggravated her until she wept and wouldn't eat. Elkanah felt bad for her and would give her special blessings to show that he still loved her. He tried to cheer her up but it didn't work.
Hannah was a sad and depressed woman. She couldn't give her husband any children and she no doubt felt rejected by God. So it didn't matter if her husband loved her if she thought God had rejected her she was going to remain inconsolable.
We can be like that. If we feel God has rejected us then it doesn't matter who loves us because it can't make up for God's rejection. Maybe we won't even believe that other people really do love us if we don't think God loves us. So that's the key-when we understand that despite what we've done or despite the circumstances of our lives that God loves us and hasn't rejected us we will be able to accept love from others.
1st Samuel 1:9-16, "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.”
Hannah wanted a son very badly. Have you ever wanted something so badly the intensity was marked in your prayers? I can picture Hannah praying something like, "God, it's been so long and Peninnah keeps on provoking me time after time. Listen, I can't take this anymore. If you give me a son I promise I'll bring him to the temple so he can serve your cause full time. I won't even keep him to myself...I'll give him back to you. Just please honor my desperate plea."
Hannah's prayer was so intense and emotional that Eli thought she was drunk! I like how Hannah addresses the Lord here-Lord Almighty. She believed in God's ability to open her womb. She calls upon the one who has all power to be mindful of her and bless her with the privilege of childbirth.
But then she follows that up with something extraordinary. She makes a vow to give him back! By saying "give him to the Lord" and "no razor will ever be used on his head" she is committing him to be set apart with the Nazirite vow. You can read about that in Num. 6 but it meant a special devotion to the Lord above the norm. And we'll see later that this means he would be brought to the temple to live and serve all the days of his life.
This is the vow she is making. Can you imagine doing that? All the years of anguish and heartache due to not having a child and you decide that within your earnest prayer to have what you've longed for you promise the Lord that if he comes through you will sacrifice him to the temple service. It almost doesn't make sense, does it? Yet that's what we see Hannah doing.
She makes a vow that if God will give her a son she will dedicate him to the Lord's work and he would live at the temple. There couldn't be a more noble commitment but this would be the fulfillment of her most ardent prayer. This is what she's been longing for and now if she gets it she's going to give it away? Talk about a selfless prayer.
I believe this shows that Hannah would be most satisfied with knowing the favor of the Lord rested on her too. Perhaps the taunts and teasing from her counterpart got to her head and she wondered what she had done to deserve barrenness. So to conceive and give birth would be such a satisfaction to her because it would show that she was not rejected by God.
2) A prayer answered and a vow kept.
A few weeks ago I spoke on the prayer of Jabez. I had mentioned that Jabez's name meant pain and grief but Jabez rose above that to become an honorable person; someone who was able to cast off that negative moniker. Interestingly, you have the opposite happening with Hannah. With the way Hannah's life was going it may have been more fitting if her name was Jabez given her pain and grief.
But, her name was Hannah, which means, favor or grace. But I'm sure she would tell you she didn't think either of those terms signified her life. However, as God is in the business of causing people to be named not for what they currently were but for who they would become, it's no different with what ends up happening in the life of the appropriately named Hannah. Let's see what Eli's response is to Hannah's clarification.
1st Sam. 1:17-20, "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.”
Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for "heard of God". Hannah's celebrating the fact that God responded favorably to her prayer. It's interesting that you see Hannah's countenance improve just from Eli giving her a positive response. To her it showed that the man of God was supporting and wishing that God would grant her request. And in being willing to dedicate this child to God's temple service showed that she wished to bless the Lord if she was to be blessed by simply being able to give birth.
Can you imagine Hannah's joy when she realized she was pregnant and especially when she gave birth? All that rejection erased. All that sorrow removed. The burden has been lifted and the pain and grief has subsided. Hannah's example teaches us to not give praying but continuing to believe in the power of the Lord Almighty. God answered this prayer and Hannah's husband Elkanah challenged her to make sure she kept her vow to the Lord once the child was weaned.
1st Sam. 1:21-28, "When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.” “Do what seems best to you,” Elkanah her husband told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.”
So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there."
It says Elkanah went to fulfill his vow. It is supposed that it means that he vowed as Hannah vowed. It makes sense since he should be in agreement with his wife regarding the child they shared together. So he was determined to keep his commitment to the Lord. But when Hannah wasn't coming with him we see him give Hannah leeway in choosing to wean him first. However, Elkanah encourages Hannah to keep her vow.
When Elkanah says, "only may the Lord make good his word", some ancient manuscripts have, "may the Lord make good your word". This means he is reminding her of her vow and encouraging her to keep it. I don't think this suggests that she was trying to get out of it but I wouldn't be surprised if Hannah was tempted to not make good on her vow once she gave birth and motherly nurturing took over.
Think about it? You've been praying for a baby for so many years and then you finally get pregnant and you spend nine months connecting and cherishing the baby in your womb and then the pain of labor is replaced with the joy of birth and now you're holding your little miracle. And that's just the birth let alone the process of weaning.
A baby would typically be nursed for two to three years in those days. So, to finally have what you've been praying so long for only to let him go after having him in your life for three years is pretty amazing. I can't imagine going through this painful separation process. Consider all the factors involved and we can gain quite a level of admiration for Hannah for making and keeping her vow.
Whenever we pray and make a vow to the Lord we need to keep it. There are times when we pray something like, "God, if you'll do this for me I promise I'll..." Then God answers our prayer and suddenly we have amnesia. God delivers but we conveniently forget our end of the bargain. That will only serve to harm us in the end.
Deut. 23:21, "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin." If we want to continue to be blessed we need to honor our commitment when his blessings come.
So they arrive at the temple and Hannah reminds Eli that she was the one who had prayed for a child and now she was there to present him to the Lord's service. So Hannah makes good on her vow. What Hannah did here is something all godly parents need to symbolically do-present our kids to the Lord.
When we pray to become parents part of that prayer needs to be a vow we make to dedicate them to the Lord's service. In that we are promising to raise them in godliness. We are choosing to teach them and lead them in the way everlasting. We are responding to the Lord's blessing by instructing them in all the ways of the Lord and leading by example.
Hannah knew how precious it was to bear a child and she could think of no better purpose than to devote his life to serving the Lord. That should be the focus if with our children. We care for them, love them and show them Jesus as we raise them.
3) Hannah's second prayer.
We've heard of the Lord's prayer but what about Hannah's prayer? The first ten verses of chapter two contain Hannah's prayer but I'm just going to focus on the first five verses. First, we have her giving thanks and highlighting that those who speak negativity are humbled when the Lord comes through.
1st Sam. 2:1-4, "Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength."
When we read where Peninnah was provoking Hannah we don't see anything suggesting that Hannah fought back. She took her concerns to the Lord and put them in his lap. And now, after the Lord has spoken in opening up Hannah's womb, Hannah makes a point to silence her foes. When she says, "my mouth boasts" I don't think this is Hannah gloating, she's highlighting her vindication and the Lord's triumph.
We can follow this example. When it seems like the Lord is taking forever to come through there may be someone who sees our misery and uses it as a way to discourage us-trying to get us to believe God doesn't love us or that God isn't able to provide. We may get angry at them and want to lash out. We may even start to think they might be right. We need to respond with the words that will try to correct their thinking. We need to tell them that God is all loving and all powerful; even if he doesn't answer our prayers.
In Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace for not bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar or his gods, they highlighted the Lord's ability to rescue them but made sure they communicated that if God didn't rescue them it didn't mean that he wasn't God. We need to believe that ourselves and communicate that to others as well.
Then we see Hannah saying something interesting in verse five. 1st Sam. 2:5, "Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. She who was barren has born seven children? She just had one. Hannah is speaking prophetically here. Although Hannah's nest was currently empty since she devoted Samuel to serve in the temple; it wouldn't stay that way.
4) Hannah's sacrifice resulted in blessing.
1st Samuel 2:18-21, "But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD.” Then they would go home. And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD."
Here we see that God continued to bless Hannah by being able to keep a connection with Samuel. I'm sure these meetings were very special as Hannah communicated how joyous and proud she was of her special son.
And we see that God blessed her with more children. You may have done the math already and realized that 1+2+3=6 not seven. Seven is a number that represents completeness or fullness. With Hannah having more children the prophecy came to fruition as she now had a full and complete family.
When we honor the Lord he blesses us. Hannah made a great sacrifice-she gave back what the Lord had given to her. The answer and fulfillment to her most sincere and passionate prayer was handed back to God. Like Abraham before her when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, Hannah showed that the one who provided the blessing was more important than the blessing itself. When we show the Lord that he is more important than the fulfillment of our prayers he will reward that.
And we can see why it was so important for Samuel to be in the Lord's service when we understand what was happening with Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas. They were not good boys. The bible calls them wicked and states that they had no regard for the Lord. But Samuel was the opposite.
2:26, "And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men." So Samuel was growing up and getting taught and groomed to be the prophet that Israel needed.
3:19-4:1a, "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel's word came to all Israel."
The state of Israel was not good and this is proven by what we see happening within the temple services. Another thing Eli's sons were doing was sleeping with the women who were serving at the Tent of Meeting. Remember when Eli thought Hannah was drunk? It is supposed that given what Eli's sons were doing seeing a drunk woman in the temple was not a rarity.
In light of all this we can see why everything happened the way it did. God's gave Hannah Samuel at the right time and he moved her to make the vow of dedication so God could raise him up to replace Eli as Israel's judge. Because Hannah was willing to make such a sacrifice we see that not only was she blessed, but so was Samuel and the whole nation of Israel as well.
This made me think of the how and why God answers our prayers the way he does. Sometimes we find ourselves praying for something for a long time and can't understand why the Lord isn't answering our prayers; especially when they're for something typical, like Hannah's. Hannah was just asking for what was normal-having a child. We might be praying for what seems standard-a child, a job, a house, etc. And so we become frustrated because we feel we're not asking for anything outside of the ordinary. We're not asking for anything excessive; just what everyone else has.
But God knows what he's doing. Maybe he held off giving Hannah a child because he needed to prepare her heart to dedicate him to the Lord. How do we respond to unanswered prayer? Do we become angry with God? Do we give up? Or do we leave it in God's hands and trust in his wisdom and timing? And when God does grant our prayers how do we respond? Are we thankful? Do we look to honor God with what he's blessed us with?
In life we typically cherish something more when we have to wait for it. When the anticipation grows and then we finally receive what we've been longing for we take better care of it than if it came easily to us. I'm not saying that those who have children early love them less than those who have to try harder to become pregnant but the point is still valid.
God sees everything and we need to concede to his timing and will in answering our prayers. He knows what he's doing and his ways are always perfect regardless of whether or not we can see or understand that in the beginning. Let's follow Hannah's example of faith and prayer and devotion.
