Hannah: An Epitome of a Standing Faith
Study Text: 1 Samuel 1: 1 - 20
Introduction:
- Hannah trusted God without doubt or concern, and her story teaches us that our faith in God allows Him to bless us.
- Her trust in God as she turned to Him, her deep desire for children and her faithfulness in bringing Samuel to God as promised are all evidences of God working in Hannah’s life.
- Every person experiences circumstances that cause grief. Many times, we simply don’t understand why the desire of our hearts is not met.
- But in the life of Hannah we see that God knows our hearts, that everything has a purpose and that trust in Him is never misplaced.
- As we look at Hannah: An Epitome of a Standing Faith, we shall be discussing under three subheadings:
1. The Problem and Mockery of Hannah
2. The Prayer and Motivation of Hannah
3. The Praise and Melody of Hannah
1. The Problem and Mockery of Hannah
- Hannah had come up to the house of the Lord. Year after year she was there with her husband, offering sacrifices to God, and suffering ridicule under the actions of Peninnah who was Elkanah’s other wife.
- How desperate of a situation this all was. Another woman who had all that she longed for. A husband who wanted to do the right thing, love, and take care of his wife, but had absolutely no control over giving her the child for which she so desperately longed.
- But the truth is, it wasn’t all up to them, it never was. Just as our situations, no matter how desperate and broken they seem, are not all up to us to solve.
- Sometimes we mistakenly think they are, or we feel like we must have done something terribly bad for God to do this to us.
- All that we need is to look up unto God and wait patiently for His visitation and intervention. In every situation His timing is perfect.
- A key verse in this story actually says that “the Lord had closed her womb.” That may seem cruel of God to do. Maybe we don’t understand the reasons behind His purposes, just as we can’t always fully see His plans in our troubles.
- But we can be assured that God definitely had a plan. He did then, and He does now. In every situation His timing is perfect.
- Samuel needed to be born at a crucial time in history. Not sooner. Not later. He needed for Hannah to be at a place where she was willing to allow Samuel to be brought up by Eli and be raised as a priest.
- God’s purposes were far greater than only granting Hannah her desire for a baby. He had a plan that needed Samuel at the right place, at the right time, all throughout his years.
2. The Prayer and Motivation of Hannah
- In her brokenness and pain, Hannah trusted God’s power and ability to work on her behalf. She choose to ignore the mockery and take her problem to the one who can help her.
- “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 even be used on his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11)
- She trusted that God was able to do this miracle for which she asked. She knew He was the only One who could hear her prayer and bring an answer to her longing. Hannah was a woman of great prayer.
- This was not just a nice, neat and little prayer, but was a holy moment, a heart-felt cry, with deep emotions of grief and anguish, pouring out her soul to the Lord.
- She wasn’t aware of anyone else’s presence around her. She didn’t care what she looked like, what anyone was thinking of her. She was humbled, broken, and knew the only way to find relief was in God alone. 1 Samuel 1:10-11
- Her weeping led to worship as her tears mingled with her prayers. The kind of prayer that arises from the bitterness of the soul is far different from the dry prayers that we sometimes utter. When tears are in our eyes, our prayer comes from the heart.
- The Lord Almighty has all the hosts of heaven ready to do His work. She is appealing to His power and authority, because she knows there is nothing she can do.
- There are certain things we can learn from the prayer of Hannah:
1) It was Specific: For a son. There was no perambulation, she went straight to her request. True prayer is when we discover the will of God for our lives in our prayer requests.
2) It was Submissive: If you will, I will: She would follow God’s lead and act accordingly.
- As part of her prayer, she is making a vow that if she is given a son, he will be dedicated to the Lord for his entire life.
- Her vow only relates to circumstances that she can affect in her realistic reach. We should not vow something we cannot control.
- Hannah now realizes a very important truth: children are not just for parents; they are for the Lord. Nothing we have really belongs to us anyway. That includes our children.
3.). It was Silent: 1 Samuel 1:12 No one could here her prayer request, not even the Priest, but she was communicating in her heart to God.
- She prayed secretly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. We don’t have to always pray out loud, but simply pray from our heart because our thoughts are as words to God.
4.) It was Sustained: She “continued praying”. This wasn’t just a quick prayer. This was a repeated request, bathed in tears.
- There were probably drunken people around the temple and Eli thought she was one of them and initially accused her wrongly.
5.) It was Sincere: She prays in her heart. She was able to describe her action to the Priest as pouring out her heart.
1 Samuel 1:15
6.). It was Sanctified: 1 Samuel 1:17
- Then Eli answered, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.
- This benediction was a huge blessing to Hannah, as the high priest, gave his approval and blessings to her request.
- After spending time in prayer, her face was no longer sad. She had left her concerns with the Lord and now she is experiencing the “peace that passes all understanding”.
3. The Praise and Melody of Hannah
- God specializes in turning tears to testimony, mockery to melody and problems to praises, and He can do much more in your life if you can trust Him like Hannah did. 1 Samuel 1:19-20
- Then, they went back home, a short time later, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son, naming him Samuel. Every time she said his name she was reminded of his origin and destiny.
- God answered Hannah’s prayer not just that she could have a baby. God intended to bring about a special prophet He would work through. He allowed a time of barrenness in Hannah’s life to bring a greater blessing than she could ever imagine.
- Many people make promises to God, only to forget them once time passes. Not so with Hannah. She fully intended to keep her promise because she knew that Samuel did not really belong to her anyway.
- Hannah not only dedicated herself to her child, she dedicated her child to the Lord. She then brings Samuel to the house of the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:28
- While she gave Samuel to her Saviour, she never forsook on her responsibility. 1 Samuel 2:19
- She has just dropped off Samuel at the temple and now she breaks out into praise. She was thrilled to be able to parent a prophet. 1 Samuel 2:1-2
- There are some points to see in her melody and praises to God:
1. She acknowledges God’s holiness and strength.
- She doesn’t brag about how handsome Samuel is, or how smart he is, or how neat it is that he can say prayers at his young age. She overlooks the gift and gives praise to the Giver.
- There is no one else who is holy like the Lord and no one else who will be her Rock through the storms of life.
2. She focuses on God’s wisdom and knowledge
- Recognising that He is the one who weighs the actions of men and women and He is just. We shouldn’t brag about what we have or what we do, because God knows our hearts.
3. She acknowledges God’s ability to bring death and to make alive.
- The power to make to be alive and to take away in death lies with God, we should appreciate Him continually for the gift of life and staying alive healthy.
4. God is the one who can make poor and give wealth; He humbles and exalts.
- Hannah endures years of silent suffering because of her barrenness and the cruel harassment at the hand of her rival, Penninah.
- She goes to the place of worship, knowing how painful it is. She faithfully worships, pouring out her tears and petitions. And when God answers her prayers, she not only keeps her promise, she explodes with praise.
Conclusion:
- If you want your children to be brought up in a Christian home, make sure that Christ is at home in your heart. If He is, then spend the rest of your life giving your children back to the Lord: they belong to Him anyway.
- Generally, the faith of Hannah in God during difficult situation is a shining example for us. Whatever the situation in our lives, He will visit us if we can remain steadfast in our faith and confidence in His power.
