Inspired by “The Importance of Prayer”, an LGG Study – w4d2
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-20; SOAP 1:10, 19-20
19 They got up early the next morning. Then they worshiped the Lord and returned to their home at Ramathaim. Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord called her to mind. 20 Then Hannah became pregnant.
1 Samuel 1:19-20
This is one of my most beloved passages of Scripture. Both because of how God’s power and tender-love are displayed; but also because of the way He used it to give me hope in my own days of infertility.
The story is best read in full, for the truest beauty can only be seen if you know that this is about more than Hannah wanting a child. It’s about relationships, it’s about God’s power withheld and poured out. We see the unkindness and even hatefulness of others, and we witness the deep love and encouragement of a husband. It’s about the faithful act of worship, the emotions, prayers, faith, and hope of one whose heart is poured out before God; it’s about the watchful eyes and encouragement of a priest, the power of prayer, the timing of God, and the waiting – while still pressing on in life; and it’s about God remembering the words of His daughter and pouring out His blessing on her, and likewise, it’s about a daughter remembering and responding with a grateful heart and faithful obedience. It’s about then and it’s about now – for ultimately, it is about us remembering and knowing, as Hannah did, just who our God is and what He can do when we humble ourselves before Him in faith – believing He is able.
Some things we can learn
When Hannah made her vow to God, she did so with great respect and purpose. She did so in faith and reciprocated with commitment. Listen as she prays specifically, boldly, and with the commitment of a child she had not yet received. Look back to the earlier portion of the story where we read that she prayed often, and watch as she responds to the priest humble but unashamed, and how she does not seek to hide her anguish from God. Don’t miss how prayer and how the encouragement from Eli, the priest, brought about a visible and inward change. It’s important to see how she went on with life and when God sent the child that she had asked Him for she was not not forgetful or oblivious, nor too caught up with life to respond accordingly.