Tag: God

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Love With Your Whole Being

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Today’s Reading: Matthew 22:34-38; 2 Peter 3:18

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question Jesus again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:34-38

When asked what the most important commandment is, Jesus answered with the Word of God. – He pointed those trying to trick Him and all who were listening to God and what they would recognize as coming from God through Moses.

““Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, … Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
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Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The same words God gave Moses to teach the people of Israel, Christ now gives to the people as the first and greatest commandment. Both the father and the son called the people, and by extension- all those who would believe in Christ, to remember that the LORD was their God and that they were to love Him with everything they had – heart, soul, mind, and strength – their whole being.

We could stop there and let that be the devotion, for we can never be reminded enough of this first and greatest commandment. However, as I read the title again in the devotional journal of our study I was left wondering why on earth they had titled it, “Praying for Your Children and the Next Generation.” So, now I’m staring at my SOAPed up passage, the highlighted words and the notes in the margin and I’m not seeing anything to do with prayer or the next generation – BUT – what I do see is the passage I jotted down from Deuteronomy and I went back to it and there, in the context of that passage, was the answer.

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3 Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Clearly these commandments, that were eventually summed up into the one that Christ gave to the Pharisees, were meant not just for each of us individually but for us and our children, and their children, and all the generations to follow. So important were the words God had given to Moses that they were meant to be passed on to their children, written on their door posts, and spoken of day and night, at home or on the road. Surely if they are that important they are meant to be a consideration of our prayers … prayers that we would love the Lord our God with all of our being, prayers that we would be faithful to teach our children and grandchildren about the commandments and how Christ summed them up, and prayers that our children and all the generations to follow would know and love the LORD our God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Lest you find yourself even for a moment wondering how it could be that important – consider this reminder – only a few generations after Moses the people of Israel no longer acknowledge God as the LORD nor did they know the wonders He had done for them.

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. 13 They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.

Judges 2:10
Prayer: Response to God’s Word

Father, this world we live in looks and sounds much like the description found in Judges chapter 2. In our country and around the world we see and hear people who have grown up not knowing You. They do not acknowledge You as Lord or remember the great things that you have done. They do evil in Your sight. Many who have grown up in the church have abandoned You and have gone after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. Change their hearts oh God, let them know You and Your love and may they be moved to love You with all of their being. Call Your people to live out Your command through Moses – to love You with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Help us to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to this command that Jesus summed up as the greatest of them all. Keep us faithful to repeat them again and again to our children, to talk about them when we are at home and when we are on the road, when we are going to bed and when we are getting up. May they not just be written and kept in places where we can see them but may they be written and hidden in our hearts as a light to guide our feet and as a lamp for our paths.   

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Committed to Prayer – Heart, Mind, & Soul

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As Inspired by the love god greatly study, The Importance of Prayer-week 5

When we trust in Jesus Christ to be our savior we make a commitment to the Father who sent Him. The commitment involves laying down our own life and desires of the mortal flesh to follow after Christ in the new spiritual nature He has graced us with; or as Paul said, as the “New Person” we have become. Christ’s love now controls us, so we commit to love and obey and to serve Him only.

– Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. … 17This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17

This past week’s focus in our study, “The Importance of Prayer”, has been focused on the various commitments of our prayer life, starting with the commitment to wait expectantly, which means trusting God to hear and to answer according to HIS WILL, (Psalm 5). This first commitment fed into all of the others, which included the commitment to being satisfied in and with God – not just an “ok, that will do” kind of satisfaction – but truly deep-down to the “soul-satisfied,” (Psalm 63). The commitment to trust Him and to be truly satisfied with Him – whose love is better than life – will, or should, naturally lead us to a commitment to praise Him – not just when or because life is ‘good’ – but because God is good (Psalm 100). Because life won’t always be good or easy, when we are committed to trusting God we will also be committed to cry out to Him for help and strength when life is stressful (Psalm 18), and equally committed to repent of our sins with a desire to maintain a pure heart and a right relationship with our God (Psalm 51).

While the word commitment and act of committing have raised fear in me since somewhere in my late 20’s and early 30’s, I am happy to say when it comes to committing to God, my life… my prayers … my trust … my fears … and my struggles … I have little to no issues. Why? Because I have found Him to be trustworthy and true. I have found Him to help me when I am weak, to provide for me in my needs, to direct me in my choices, and to sustain me by His power … and so much more! Our study this past week has been a refreshing reminder of the need and the joy and hope that come from being committed to a life of prayer. May the same be true for you as you make these commitments in your own walk of faith and prayer.

Links for “The Importance of Prayer” -week 5- are below
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/06/5678/
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/07/5686/
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/08/5704/
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/09/5722/
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/02/10/5729/
Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study

Commit to a Pure Heart

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Read: Psalm 51; Soap: Psalm 51:10

Create for me a pure heart, O God.
Renew a resolute spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Have mercy … wipe away … wash away … cleanse me … forgive me … cleanse me … grant me forgiveness … hide Your face from my sin … do not reject me … rescue me from the guilt … do not take your holy Spirit away … David, obviously convicted for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, pleads with God throughout this prayer for forgiveness. He is contrite, truly sorry for the sins he has committed, and desperately wants God’s forgiveness. He realizes he doesn’t deserve what he requests but appeals to God’s great compassion.

It is equally important to note that David doesn’t just ask for forgiveness but he pleads for God to cleanse him, to wash him, to rescue him … He knows his heart has been deceptive and that he needs God to renew a right Spirit, one that would stand strong and firm, resolute, against the temptations he might face going forward. This is important to our application of this verse, because unless we realize the treachery of our sin we will continually walk in it, and rather than repentantly coming to God as David does here – we will flippantly utter the words while perhaps still walking in the sin.

Sin is a dangerous enemy for the Christian, so we must have a healthy respect for the impact it can have on our lives and the lives of others. It is important for us to deal with our sin daily so that it does not take hold of us … which I believe is why David prayed for God to give Him a pure – unadulterated-heart.

May we be committed to seek God for a heart that is pure and pleasing to Him – Amen!

Don’t forget to check out today’s LGG Blog

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Committed to Being Satisfied in God

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Read: Psalm 63; SOAP: Psalm 63:3-4

Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.  For this reason I will praise you while I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:3-4

Have you ever noticed how sometimes God seems so close that it feels like you could touch Him or hear Him but other times it seems as though He is no where to be found? David’s description is much like that – while at some point he has been able to experience God’s loyal love and see His power and splendor in the sanctuary David’s current situation in the desert seems vastly different. He finds himself longing for God, thirsting for Him as one who has been without water (1-2). Yet he was able to find satisfaction in his previous experiences and knowledge of God and declare the bold statement of verses 3 and 4.

Once we have experienced God’s love, once we have tasted and seen His power and His splendor nothing else satisfies. His LOVE truly is better than life- so much so that even in the midst of drought and storms – we are satisfied by the comfort and hope of recalling His LOVE AND POWER – and we are moved to praise and worship.

I have had these verses committed to memory for several decades now and have drawn peace and comfort from them and used them to turn some of life’s hardest times into a time of praising God but until now I never looked at them as verses that spoke of being satisfied. However, as I was considering the idea I was reminded of a time shortly after the my grandson was born. I was holding him while my daughter took care of some things she needed to do. When he began to fuss I walked with him, that helped for a few minutes but the fussing grew more agitated so I offered him the pacifier, which, like the walking, soothed him for a while but the growing urgency of his fussing made it clear that what he needed was the one who could hold him and had the power to feed him and satisfy his hunger. The pacifier and the walking were simply temporary fixes that did not truly satisfy – the only thing that could do that was the comforting, satisfying supply of his mother’s milk. You would think the analogy stops there, for surely this sweet baby can not simply live on the recollection of his mother’s milk. Yet, his persistent cry, even after offering a different position such as walking or something soothing like a pacifier, are reminders in themselves. A lesson, if you will, for us to not become satisfied with the false securities of life that may be offered to us in the deserts or the storms of life. Instead, may we persistently cry out for and be satisfied only with the life-giving supply of God’s love that truly is better than life.

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Commit to Wait Expectantly

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Read: Psalm 5 and Proverbs 8:17; SOAP: Psalm 5:3

Lord, in the morning you will hear me;
in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer.

Psalm 5:3

What a beautiful example of prayer David presents here. I can hear his desperation in the preceding verses as he calls on God to – listen, consider, and pay attention all before he is praying. He is specific with God as to when he will be praying and he is boldly expectant of an answer, declaring his commitment to wait. The rest of the prayer (4-12) bears witness that he prays in accordance with God’s will, as he expresses knowledge of what God doesn’t accept and what he rewards. These are all very important parts of prayer …

  • the desperation showing he understands his need for God …
  • calling on God to listen reveals David isn’t just interested in praying but in talking to God (it’s about the relationship not the religious act) …
  • the specific time indicates his seriousness …
  • and the term, “I will wait expectantly”, indicates commitment and trust, which is our focus today …

The first part, “I will“, is a commitment, the evidence of our trust. The second part, “wait expectantly“, indicates how he will wait. While there is something to be said about leaving our requests at Jesus’ feet, trusting Him to answer, it’s the expectation that keeps our eyes on God. It doesn’t mean we stop and wring our hands or pace the floor while we wait, but simply that we are aware that we have asked something of God and are anticipating its arrival. This combination of commitment and expectation is also what keeps us coming back – asking, seeking, knocking – and what moves our heart to rejoice when we receive the answer.

Be Sure to check out today’s LGG Blog Post

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

All You Can Ask or Think

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Inspired by “The Importance of Prayer”, an LGG Study – w4d5
Read John 1:16 and Ephesians 3:20-21

16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.

20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think,

John 1:16/Ephesians 3:20

Verse 20 is actually the closure to Paul’s prayer, which you can read in verses 14-19, where Paul prays specifically for the benefit of the Gentiles (v1), that they would know the power that comes from the Spirit living in them, that because of their faith Christ would dwell in their hearts where the roots of their faith would grow deep and strong, that they would be able to comprehend the magnitude of God’s love through Christ, and “be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God Himself.”

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles[… When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 [I pray] that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Ephesians 3:1, 14-19 NLT

At the end of Paul’s prayer (v20) he declares that God is able to do more than we ask or even imagine. He knows that the strength believers have – comes not from themselves but from the Spirit God has placed within them – and, because of this, he moves forward in verse 21, with a call that God be glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus. So confident is Paul in what God can do that he commits all he asked of God to God for the glory of God.

to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:21

We have been invited to approach God’s throne boldly and with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), – and yet, so often it seems we come shyly before Him praying timidly. According to 1 John 5:14, we are able to ask anything according to His will and know that He will hear us. So, what is it you need to pray about? Pray for it – pray according to His will, pray with confidence, pray boldly, pray believing, and pray faithfully – and then watch expectantly to see what God does.

He’s a big, all-powerful, all-knowing, always-present God so let’s not limit Him. Let’s pray BIG prayers in Jesus’ Name. Yes, His answer may not look like what we envisioned but His vision is perfect and His ways are perfect and much better than we can conceive – and He is poised and prepared to do more than we ask or even imagine!

As John so beautifully put it in John 1:16, from God’s fullness [believers] have received “one gracious gift after another. which is best defined as “grace upon grace”. Knowing this led me back to read Ephesians 3:19 again, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Do you see it? Bear with me for a minute and allow me this paraphrased version – “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the [grace] that comes from God.” In other words, Jesus is the full expression of God’s love for us, He, Jesus, is the grace of God poured out on us – for is it not by grace that we have been saved through faith? He cannot give us anything greater than Christ – nothing we ask is too difficult for Him – so I say again, don’t limit God! Pray big prayers, pray according to His will, pray with confidence, pray boldly, pray believing, and pray faithfully – and then watch expectantly to see what God does.

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith…

Ephesians 2:8
Call to Action:

Does a doctor’s appointment have you concerned? Pray for peace to quiet the fear.

Is there a “river” you need to cross that seems impossible? Ask Him to part the waters or to show you the way around it.

Is there a “storm” brewing around you? Ask Him to silence the winds and waves.

Is a friend in trouble? Ask God to rescue them.

Don’t just ask – BELIEVE HE IS ABLE – not just able to do what you’ve asked – but exceedingly more than you’ve asked or even imagined!

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Conquering and Consuming Fire

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Inspired by “The Importance of Prayer”, a Love God Greatly Study – w4d4

Read 1 Kings 18:20-39

Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. 

1 Kings 18:21

I hope you’ll read the whole passage today to have a fuller picture and understanding of what Elijah was up against and how amazingly God responded to Elijah’s prayer for the people, God’s people, to renew their allegiance to God! It’s important to note, Elijah wasn’t concerned with the people thinking he was the greatest – his concern was for the people’s indecisiveness and he urged them to make their decision – God or Baal. When they wouldn’t respond the challenge was put forth.

 Elijah said to them: “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. 24 Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”

1 Kings 18:22-24

While the prophets of Baal did it their way calling upon the name of Baal and following their prescribed rituals, shouting louder and louder when he didn’t answer and then mutilating themselves, as was their custom. Yet, despite their frenzied behavior and efforts there was still no answer from Baal. So Elijah began his turn in the challenge, and he went to great lengths to set up the altar and prepare for what he expected the LORD to do. Then he did the strangest thing, instead of doing everything to assure the fire would start, he instructed the people to pour jugs of water on the offering and in the trench around where the offering lay. Seemingly crazy and definitely risky in the eyes of man but further proof of Elijah’s hope and trust in God. For this act insured that when the fire started it would be totally from the true, living, powerful LORD, the God of Elijah. Once everything was ready, Elijah prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His request was for God’s glory and for the people to return to the true and living God – and God responded, meeting if not exceeding Elijah’s requests.

 Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”

1 Kings 18:38-39

Call to Action:

  • Pray believing
  • Pray for the sake of God’s glory and the rescue/redemption of God’s people
  • Prepare for the answer you’ve sought
  • Ask and expect God to answer and stand out of the way to watch Him work
Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Waiting for God’s Answers

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Inspired by “The Importance of Prayer”, An LGG Study – w4d3

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 3:19-26; SOAP: 25-26

The Lord is good to those who trust in him,

to the one who seeks him.

26 It is good to wait patiently

for deliverance from the Lord.

Lamentations 3:25-26
Reviewing the Situation

Like with so much of Scripture it is easy to zoom in on the verses of hope and joy and the “good parts” of God’s story – but we can’t fully understand or appreciate these verses if we don’t know why the hope or joy or deliverance taste so sweet. Take for instance, Jeremiah’s words in verse 19 – he remembers the afflictions and wanderings, the bitterness and the awful conditions he had endured – the taste of it all was still fresh in his mind – but why? What had been happening that was so bitter and brought so much depression? We could go back through the history of God’s people to fully see and comprehend how things were as Jeremiah records, but for the purpose of today’s passage it will suffice to simply look back to the first of Lamentations. You see, the book of Lamentations begins with Jeremiah mourning over Jerusalem’s destruction – The Temple was destroyed, the people were defeated and taken captive and his sorrow ran deep. So deep was his sorrow that the entire book is saturated with it. Even chapter three still finds him expressing words of lament but with one difference – a glimmer of HOPE! So where did his hope come from in the midst of all the sorrow and devastation? Why, when God’s people were still waiting for deliverance, did he find reason to HOPE? This is what we must not miss in order to truly share in the hope Jeremiah speaks of as we find ourselves waiting for the Lord and His deliverance. Read what he writes in verses 19-21, notice the depth of his despair and then it’s like a light bulb goes on – and he declares, “But this I call to mind; therefore I have hope:

[I] Remember my impoverished and homeless condition,
which is a bitter poison.
20 I continually think about this,
and I am depressed.
21 But this I call to mind;
therefore I have hope:

Lamentations 3:19-21
What Does He Call to Mind? Why Does He Have Hope?

We don’t have to look far to find out. It happened just after remembering the days of his own impoverished and homeless condition – which could just as easily have led him away from the Lord. Instead, he purposefully “called to mind” the goodness of God which led him to HOPE in the LORD. He chose to remember God’s kindness, compassion, and faithfulness – and then he once again declares his hope in the LORD.

The Lord’s loyal kindness never ceases;
his compassions never end.
23 They are fresh every morning;
your faithfulness is abundant!
24 “My portion [security, hope] is the Lord,” I have said to myself,
so I will put my hope in him.

Lamentations 3:22-24 NET

You see, what Jeremiah realized, and what we would be wise to learn from him, is that by remembering the “goodness of God” we will be led to hope and hope will move our heart, as it did his, from despair to ‘trusting in God, seeking Him, and waiting patiently for His deliverance.” It seems to me the key was in a change of focus – he went from “continually thinking about” his past and problems or misery to choosing to remember God’s goodness.

So, what are you waiting on today? Provision for a need? Wisdom for a decision? Healing? Whatever it is, fix your thoughts on the goodness of the Lord, determine to “call to mind” what He has done for you already and let those truths move you to HOPE, and from that hope may you ‘trust in him, seek him and wait patiently for His deliverance. In the meantime, rest and delight in knowing that His mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is great!

Want more? Be sure and visit Love God Greatly for the Wednesday blog.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time, She, Volume 2, The Importance of Prayer

Hannah’s Story

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God Remembers

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-20;

10 She was very upset as she prayed to the LORD, and she was weeping uncontrollably. 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.

Hannah’s story, found in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2, is best read in full, for the truest beauty can only be seen when you know it 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.

Hannah was Elkanah’s wife. She was one of two wives. Scripture says that the first was Hannah and the second was Peninnah. Elkanah cared for Peninnah and their children, but Scripture makes it clear that he took special care of Hannah and loved her, even though the Lord had not enabled her to have children. Peninnah, however, did not treat Hannah with the same kindness as Elkanah. Instead, we are told that she was her rival, “an adversary who provoked her to the point of exasperation, just to irritate her, since the lORD had not enabled her to have children. This is how it would go year after year. As often as she went up to the LORD’S house, Peninnah would offend her in that way.

Some things we can learn

“As for Hannah, she was very distressed. She prayed to the Lord and was, in fact, weeping. She made a vow saying, “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you would truly look on the suffering of your servant, and would keep me in mind and not neglect your servant, and give your servant a male child, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.” 1 Samuel 1:10-11

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. Do not miss how prayer and Eli’s encouragement brought about a visible and inward change.

Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.” She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and got something to eat. Her face no longer looked sad. 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 1:17-20

It is important to see how Hannah went on with life, and when God sent the child she had asked Him for, she was neither forgetful nor oblivious, nor so caught up in life that she could not respond accordingly concerning the vow she had made to the Lord.

Scripture says that “When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

The Rest of the Story

If you continue reading through the book of Samuel, you will see that Hannah’s story doesn’t end with her leaving Samuel, her only child, at the Temple. As we read in the next chapter of 1 Samuel (chapter two),

“… But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. 19 Each year, his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.”

1 Samuel 2:18-21

We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Hannah to keep her commitment to leave this child she had longed for and prayed for behind, in the House of the Lord. Yet Scripture says that is exactly what she did, and in all of it, she was blessed by the Lord with other children to take the place of the one she had given to the Lord, just as Eli had prayed. She gave birth to two more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, “the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:21), and He would go on to become the spiritual leader of Israel. As the prophet and judge of the nation, Samuel would anoint the nation’s first two kings, Saul and David. (emphasis adapted from gotquestions.org)

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, The Importance of Prayer, The Importance of Prayer

Prayer for God’s Strength

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8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Have you ever wondered what Paul struggled with? Defined as a “thorn in his flesh”, one that was given purposefully to trouble him, and one meant to keep him from being arrogant. Ouch! Read the verses again, don’t miss how Paul handled the maddening trouble (7). Verse 8 says that on three different occasions he prayed – begging the Lord to take it away from him. Paul was both confident and persistent and yet the answer was continuously ‘no’. Why? Because God knew that the effect of the trouble would cause Paul to see his own weakness and depend on God’s strength. God’s plan was never for Paul, or us for that matter, to think of ourselves as self sufficient but rather to be dependent on God’s all-sufficient grace

Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant.

2 Corinthians `12:7

When we see our own weaknesses and in turn realize the need for and sufficiency of our God, we will understand the futility of bragging about our strengths and instead we will find ourselves seeking God, trusting in Him, and praising Him. As Paul says, we will boast all the more about our weaknesses so that the power of Christ might be seen in us. To this end we should all live – that Christ be glorified in us.

Be sure and check out today’s Love God Greatly Blog Post

https://lovegodgreatly.com/lgg-blog/