Hannah was a desperate woman who prayed for a baby. In 1 Samuel 1, we read about Hannah and her bold prayer for a child.
Hannah was a sad woman. A heartbroken woman. Hannah wanted a child more than anything. She had a husband who loved her but she desired more for her family. She struggled with infertility, and her life was slipping away in her desire.
To make matters worse, her husband, Elkanah, had another wife named Peninnah. Peninnah had children and she taunted Hannah because of it. Peninnah had children but not Elkanah’s love. Hannah had Elkanah’s love but not any children. Both of these women struggled with insecurity.
Peninnah handled it by teasing and ridiculing Hannah. Of course, this cut Hannah to the core. The one thing she desired in life, she had no control over. When we desperatly want something and we can’t have it, it often takes contorl of our emotions and our behaviors. It becomes the one thing we are concernced about. Often this becomes an idol in our lives.
We see a different reaction from Hannah, at least in this point of the story. Perhaps before Hannah had tried eating mandrakes like Rachel (Jacob’s wife in Genesis 30:14) to increase her fertility. Perhaps she had been angry and bitter and added extra salt in Peninnah’s soup when she wasn’t looking. I’m making that up but we often see bitterness and anger drive us to do crazy or mean things. The Bible doesn’t tell us that Hannah did any of those things; she didn’t try to take revenge on Peninnah or thow insults back at her. Instead, in her desperation, she turned to the Lord and put her trust in Him. Hannah prayed.
Hannah Prayed In Her Desperation
Hannah goes to the temple in Shiloh and she prays to the Lord. In fact, she is praying so earnestly that Eli, the High Priest, thinks that she is drunk. Have you ever prayed that hard? Most of us have been in a situation or two where we have felt exteremly desperate in our lives, but at those moments have you turned to exhaustive, passionate prayers like Hannah?
Pray Like Hannah
Hannah wasn’t worried about what others thought. She didn’t care that the priest was watching her. In fact, she probably didn’t even realize he was there. Hannah simply came before the Lord and poured out her heart to Him. We need to come to the Lord like that, fully focused on Him.
Stop right now and try something.
Lay flat on your belly with your arms spread wide and cry out to God. Whatever is pressing on your heart, wherever you feel yourself in desperation. Focus on God for the next minutes as you lay prostate, completely humble yourself before the Lord.
Let me know how you felt in the comments!
God answers prayers. It isn’t always in the way we hope or desire. Sometimes the answer is no. But when we remember that God is a good God with a good purpose, we can trust Him no matter what. I’m certain that even if God had told Hannah the answer “no” that He would have comforted her and provided joy for her through the trial. He does the same for us.
Your kids can be encouraged by how Hannah prayed too!
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