Title: “Hannah’s Prayer” Scripture: I Sam. 1:10-20
Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 9-5-21
Intro: There are several women whose faith is honored in the Bible. We would do well to remember the lives they lived, the prayers they prayed, and the faith they exhibited. The same God that these women called on and trusted is the same God who promises to be faithful to us today. Hagar’s prayer for water reveals that God will provide for our needs (Gen. 16). Miriam’s prayer of praise reminds us that every triumph is the Lord’s (Ex. 15). Deborah’s prayer for God’s glory demonstrates how He is at work in both the great and small things (Ju.5) Esther’s prayer shows us how to have others pray for us (Esther 4). Mary’s prayer demonstrates that focusing on God’s character gives us hope and joy (Lk.1). And finally, the woman whose circumstances we will examine today: Hannah, whose prayer for a child shows us we can pray for our heart’s desires to the Lord (I Sam. 1).
Prop: Examining I Sam 1 to learn 4 Valuable Lessons from Hannah’s Prayer.
BG: 1. Story takes place during the period of Israel’s history characterized by “Judges”. No king.
2. Hannah will become the mother of Samuel, who will become the spiritual leader of the nation and anoint the first king over Israel, Saul. Samuel’s conception, however, was not easy. In fact, required intervention from the Lord. Hannah, a godly woman, took her petition to the Lord in prayer.
3.
Prop: Let’s examine I Sam 1 to learn 4 Valuable Lessons from Hannah’s Prayer.
I. Hannah Knew Where to Take Her Problem – to God in Prayer. I Sam. 1:10
A. Hannah had a problem which Only God Could Solve.
1. The story of Hannah is one of the better known stories of a faith filled woman in the Bible. Year after year Hannah and her husband, Elkanah and his other wife, Peninnah, would come to offer sacrifices at the Tent of Meeting which was in Shiloh at that time. The TOM was the precursor to the Temple and it was in Shiloh from the time of Joshua until the time of Samuel.
2. Now Hannah had a desperate problem and we see it recorded in the last portion of v.2. “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” At the time of I&II Sam, barrenness was seen as a curse by God. A curse that brought deep shame upon a family, and primarily the wife, because children were considered as God’s blessing. Infertility, on the other hand, was deemed to be from God’s disfavor and the resultant barren womb was an incredibly difficult burden to bear under any circumstance. More so when other wife is mocking you.
B. We Need to Learn the Lesson of Hannah and take our Problems to the One Who can Solve Any Problem.
1. Over the years I have known many godly couples who have, like Hannah, had to walk the difficult path of infertility. The Church has not always done a good job in supporting and encouraging these individuals and it is important that we are sensitive to their plight. Need to be careful not to offer trite advice or glib comments.
2. We need to be encouraged to take our burdens and griefs to the Lord in prayer.
a. Illust: Bob (Saxon) is a man many of us are well acquainted with. The last 25 yrs. has not been easy for Bob and family. Over 20 yrs ago given a grim prognosis of 6 mo due to advanced cancer. By God’s grace overcame. About 15 yrs ago, their son was involved in a tragic, single car accident. He was Pre-Med at UI. Now he is quadriplegic, requiring constant medical care. Caring for their son they lost their business due to mounting medical bills. Early onset dementia began to rob Bob’s faculties. His wife was diagnosed with cancer. Recently Bob has had a stroke. Burdens are overwhelming. Yet, Bob is a man of prayer and praise.
b. Hannah had a desperate situation. Although had a husband who tried to do the right thing and loved her unconditionally. He never negatively compared his wife. However, he couldn’t solve her problem. He had no power over the child she desperately wanted to have. You see, this story teaches us that it wasn’t up to either Hannah nor Elkana to solve their desperate situation. It’s easy to fall into the twin traps of “I need to fix this” or “”God must hate me because of this…” Let me encourage you to rather, like Hannah, take your problem to the Lord in prayer.
C. Applic: Do you have an apparently unsolvable problem? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
II. In Her Brokenness and Pain, Hannah Trusted God’s Ability to Work on Her Behalf. V.11
A. A Significant Change Begins to Happen when Hannah Trusts God’s Ability to Work.
1. Notice, Hannah was trusting God to perform a miracle for which she had faith to ask for.
a. Hannah knew that God was the only One Who could hear her prayer and provide an answer for which she desperately wanted. Illust: Certainly there were no fertility specialists or clinics then. No outside medical help of significance. Her only hope and help had to be God and her access to Him was through prayer!
b. Notice the prayer of this “Holy Moment” in the life of Hannah. Not a nice, neat, little prayer. Rather, this is a heart felt cry of emotion and grief and anguish of heart as she poured out her soul before the Lord. She was neither aware, nor couldn’t care that there were others around her watching. She prayed! Illust: Imagine we have had similar moments. Late fall of 1996, I was driving down Mineral Springs Rd in Lexington, SC. Had accepted call to come here, but weight of what I was leaving hit me: Friends, family, Church – growing, paid off debt, added new addition debt free, some recognition in the district, loved Southern culture. Pretty animated in prayer. “Do you know what you are doing God? Are you sure? Not sure I want to leave.” (When at stop realized woman watching me! No cell phones then! She thought I was nuts. I didn’t care. God spoke peace to my soul.
2. In This Lesson of Hannah’s we Realize God’s Timing is always Perfect. All the time!
a. Vv.5-6 These are key verses. God had closed Hannah’s womb. At first glance might think that was a very cruel thing for God to do. However, very rarely do we know what God’s purposes and plans are before they take place. However, we can always be sure that God has a plan! He did for Hannah. He does for you and me too! Illust: Friend, let me tell you something: “God never runs. God’s never early. God’s never late.”
b. Hannah’s child, Samuel, needed to be born at a specific time in history. No sooner. No later. God needed Hannah to be willing to allow her son to be raised by Eli as a priest. God’s purposes were greater than simply allowing Hannah to have a child. He had a plan for Samuel to influence the religious life of an entire nation!
B. Do you and I, like Hanah, Trust God to Work on Our Behalf in His and not our Time table?
1. Like Hannah, we can take our brokenness and pain to God, trusting His power to work on our behalf.
a. Hannah not only trusts God to give her a child, but also trusts the child’s future to the Lord as well. The vow of Hannah contained two solemn promises—the one pledged the son she prayed for to the service of the Lord. The mother looked on to a life-long service in the ritual of the Tabernacle for him. But God had even greater plans for her yet born son and he would become a prophet that reformed the nation. The second promise undertook was that he should be a Nazarite. This promise included three things—the refraining from intoxicating drinks, letting the hair grow, and the avoiding all ceremonial defilement by corpses even of the nearest kin. Samuel was what the Talmud calls a perpetual Nazarite.
b. Illust: Two examples of Nazirites in the OT: Samson (Judges 13:5), and Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11). Both were born of previously barren mothers and entered into their vows through either their mothers' oath (as in the case of Hannah), or a divine command (in the case of Samson), rather than by their own volition. One in the NT, John the Baptist, came under identical circumstances with a barren mother and the Lord commanding it before his birth.
2. Like Hannah, we can Trust that God’s Answer will Come in His perfect timing.
- Gal. 4:4 “But when the fullness of time came…” God’s timing in sending Jesus was perfect! Salvation’s history had come to it’s climax. No mistakes. Your and my timing on this planet is no different. God has a plan for you and me. Right now. Right here. You may be facing hardship or heartache right now. You may doubt your value or purpose. You are no cosmic accident! You have value. You have purpose. God has a plan and an answer and He will reveal that to you in His time.
C. Applic: Friend, I want to encourage you. You can trust Christ to work with, in, and through, your brokenness and pain. He has a perfect plan and perfect timing. Wait upon Him by faith.
III. Hannah Believed God Would do What He Said He Would Do. Vv. 18-20
A. After Praying, Hannah’s countenance Noticeably Changes.
1. Looking at this Passage you might say that Hannah’s Face Now Matches her Faith.
a. V.18 – “and her face was no longer downcast” We don’t know how many years Hannah and family had been going to Shiloh to sacrifice. Don’t know if had prayed all those other years or not. This is first instance recorded for her. Hannah took her trouble to the Lord and as the old timers used to say when I was a kid: “She prayed through!” She prayed until she got an answer. Like Israel of old she would not let go of God! And do you know what happened? Her faith changed her face! Her face was no longer downcast! She had hope! Confidence! Joy! Why, because like the woman in the Gospel’s she had reached out and took hold of the Master’s garments in prayer!
b. Illust: Ps. 42:11 comes to mind: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Hannah’s soul was downcast by her barrenness. Hannah’s soul was downcast by Peninnah’s mockings. Hannah’s soul was possibly downcast by thinking her husband should do for her what only God could do. Hannah walked with a downcast face that was a result of a defeated faith.
2. Christian, let me ask you does your countenance express your faith? (Pos or Neg.?)
a. Let me ask you Christian, “Does your and my face influence our faith or does our faith influence our face? Does your and my faith inform our face or does our lack of faith deform our face? Does our faith inform our face or does our lack of faith inform our face?
b. Joy of the Lord comes by believing His promises and what He says He will do. It comes from connecting with Jesus Christ in a growing personal relationship that is daily in tune and in touch with the Master and His Word. Num. 6:24-26. “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” The reason a lot of Christian’s faces are so downcast today is because we are not gazing upon the Lord’s face daily in fellowship or weekly in worship!
B. Hannah Worships the Lord Before Leaving Shiloh.
1. We See that After Her Prayer but before God’s Answer, Hannah worships the Lord.
a. Elkanah and Hannah offer to God a sacrifice of praise before leaving Shiloh. Why was this significant? I think it was significant because they were praising God before they could visibly see whether or not God had answered their prayer. We usually thank God after He answers our prayers. Normal. Right? Hannah and husband offer sacrifice of praise before the results are visible. What’s that called? FAITH!
b. Illust: Years ago, a Southern state was experiencing devastating drought. Both preachers and politicians had called for a prayer meeting to pray for rain. Hundreds of people packed the church. One slightly eccentric man came with an umbrella. Usher: “Why did you bring an umbrella, sir? It has rained here for nearly a year.” “I believe that is going to change tonight.” Man had faith!
2. Believe by Faith and Worship Christ Even When You Have Yet to see His Miracle.
a. There are two significant phrases that I want us to see in vv.19-20. In fact they connect the two verses: “and the Lord remembered her. And it came about in due time…” Don’t misread v. 19. God hadn’t forgotten about Hannah. Neither Michael nor Gabriel had to wake God up and say, “Lord, do you remember hearing Hannah pray last week?” Rather, its an expression denoting the Lord is about to bestow His favor on Hannah. And notice the second phrase: “It came about in due time…” God had a time table for Hannah and for Samuel.
b. When George Mueller died in 1898, he had outlived all of his family. Previously buried two wives and children. But Mueller wasn’t alone. 10’s of 1000s of people lined the road as a humble cortege carried this man to the church. Why? Mueller was a man of prayer and faith that had been used by God to literally change the lives of 1000’s of England’s orphans, as well as the people of Bristol where he had served for 66 years. During those years had prayed in $Millions w/o telling a soul. Believed God could do what said.
C. Applic: Let me ask you, Christian: Do you believe God will do what He has said He will do? Do you believe it even if you have yet to see it? It’s called FAITH! Like Hannah, live it!
IV. Hannah Faithfully Kept Her End of the Bargain When the Lord Answered Her Prayer. Vv.24-28
A. Hannah Faithfully Keeps the Promise that She Had Made to the Lord.
1. Notice that Hannah Kept her word when the Lord answered her prayer.
a. Vv.24-28. Women, put yourself in Hannah’s position. Think of the emotions she must be feeling at this point. Little Samuel is probably no more than 3-4 years of age at most. Hannah didn’t run away with her son in her arms telling God “It was too hard to obey.” Or, maybe next year. Possibly I her heart of hearts Hannah knew God had a greater plan for her son than she could even conceive of and that she needed to keep her end of the bargain.
b. Illust: One of the hardest things in life for a parent to do is let a child go, placing him or her securely in God’s loving care and protection while surrendering the responsibility that has been their motivation all the years of the child’s growing up. Illust: College students…Did you notice how long parents took to drop you off at school? Notice how they lingered when you were ready to go? Did you notice your dad was wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day? There’s a reason.
2. Hannah’s Prayer and Obedience to act Shows us that God Never Allows our Pain and Brokenness to summarize our lives when we are fully surrendered to Him.
a. Friend, God blesses His people , even in the midst of our most difficult season of life. Illust: Think of Ruth- Widowed. Foreigner in Mother in law’s land. Yet, Boaz redeems her and God allows Israel’s greatest king to be a descendant of their union. Think of Job. He literally loses everything except his nagging wife and lousy friends! Went through an awful season of hardship. Yet, in Job 42:12 says: “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” Then see God blessed Job with 2x amount of livestock as before. If you’re in a season of hardship or trial right now, be encouraged dear one, God isn’t wasting this time. We read later in the book that God ended up granting Hannah 5 more children beyond Samuel.
b. Christian, God never allows our pain or suffering to be His final Word for our lives. He blessing may look differently than what we assumed. Often God grants us a new measure of faith, perseverance, love, and character growth during those dark seasons of the soul so that when we come through them we are refined as silver or gold in the fire.
B. Hannah Praise God for the Way He Worked in Her life. I Sam. 2:1-2
1. Here we being to see Hannah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving.
a. Vv.1-10 are in some ways reminiscent of Mary’s prayer (The Magnificant) in Lk. 1:46-55. When she praised the Lord for the child in her womb, our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. Pain from the past and anticipation of the future often keep us from rejoicing in the good things God gives us. It’s difficult at times to take much delight in the blessings we receive when so many other things are going wrong. Still, the Scriptures offer many examples of prayers in which God’s faithful people celebrated because they were able to see that their personal stories were part of God’s story, part of His glorious plan for creation.
2. Stay connected to and concern with God’s plan even when your plan isn’t going well.
a. How was Hannah able to rejoice in these circumstances? Verses 6–10 reveal that Hannah rejoiced because she believed that her experience was part of something much greater—God’s wondrous story of salvation. In verses 6–8, Hannah first acknowledged that the birth of Samuel could not be dismissed as an insignificant fluke of history. Rather, she saw that her experience fit a pattern repeated in God’s interactions with His people. God had raised her up and humbled those who mocked her. And she rejoiced because she knew that, “The Lord kills and brings to life . . . he brings low and he exalts” (1 Sam. 2:6–7). The same is true for you and me. When we take time in prayer to acknowledge how events in our lives fit with what God has done in history and in our contemporary world, our hearts are filled with amazement at the blessings He has poured out on us.
b. Vv. 9–10 Hannah acknowledged that the birth of Samuel was a foretaste of even greater things to come. Her heart turned toward the day when “the Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed” (v. 10). Hannah’s joy enlarged as she recognized that her personal experience was a token of the day that God would judge all the earth through the reign of Israel’s future king. We, too, can celebrate blessings in our lives when we remember that they are foretastes of what is to come when Christ the King returns in glory. Sorrows from the past and worries about the future give way to utter delight when we affirm in prayer that the blessings we receive demonstrate that we are part of the grand story of God’s coming kingdom.
