Prayer Hannah Style

Hannah’s prayer is impressive when you stop to consider what she said. Of course, I am talking about Hannah, Samuel’s mom. We don’t know much about her other than she was an amazing woman! She was one of two wives, you know. That is never a desirable situation. Whenever I think about multiple wive situations in the Bible, some great names come to me. There was Abraham, Jacob, Moses, the champ Solomon, and Elkana, Hanah’s husband.

Hanah had a rival in Peninnah, the other woman. What exacerbated things was that Peninnah had children regularly, and Hannah had none because she couldn’t have any. The Bible goes so far as to say that the Lord had closed her womb (1:5). There seemed to be some divine purpose behind Hannah’s fertility. This scenario in Bible times was tragic, and again there are several examples of well-timed sterility in the Old and New Testaments. Sarah, Rebeca, Rachel, Elizabeth and others whose walk with God was tested in their inability to have children.

What Hannah did was the proper solution to every problem we might encounter, she prayed. She was in the Tabernacle praying when the High Priest Eli saw her. He must have been so unaccustomed to seeing someone praying in that sacred place that he jumped to the conclusion that Hannah was drunk. Her lips were moving, but words were not coming out of her mouth. When Hannah confessed that she was praying and not inebriated, Eli pronounced a type of blessing on her. He said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” And God did. Samuel was born around nine to ten months later.

The significant aspect of this promise and the resulting blessing is Hannah’s vow, even before God had granted her pregnancy. 1 Samuel 1:11 tells the intimate details. “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.’”

In chapter one, Hannah was not bargaining with God, and we know this because of what she prayed or sang here in chapter two. The glorious prayer is recorded in the first ten verses of chapter two.

Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord, my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him, deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles, and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them, he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Her prayer is a literary work of art and a wonderful benediction. It reflects the grandeur of God in simple words with profound meaning. Look it over learn how you should pray.

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