HANNAH’S PRAYER

DAY 9/366

1 Samuel 1: 11 "And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on 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 ever be used on his head.”

The verse highlighted above captures the prayer of Hannah in Shiloh, and a few elements of this prayer could be explored further.

1. There is an acknowledgement of the sovereignty and might of God. The one to whom the prayer was addressed, had been deemed to have capacity to deal with the matter at hand as he was described as Almighty. Don’t go to God thinking your matter is bigger than He is.

2. Faith isn’t about not seeing the challenge, in fact it begins by acknowledging the presence of one. However, faith looks past this challenge towards the solution

3. Hannah asked for a son, that was a very specific request. We sometimes waffle with God expecting Him to read our mind. Of course He knows the very depths of our hearts, but what we ask, is what will be done.

4. This is a question that ought to guide all our prayer: “how does God and his Kingdom benefit from the request you are making? In Hannah’s prayer, God was gaining a man, one who would be mighty in guiding His people, Israel. Who gains if your current prayer request is answered completely? God? His kingdom? Society? Men? Or is it just about you, and yourself? God, His kingdom? Society? Men? Or is it simply about you, and yourself?

#sly