Hannah’s Prayer

1 Samuel 2:1-10

And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“No one is holy like the LORD,
For there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.

“Talk no more so very proudly;
Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For the LORD is the God of knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed.

“The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceased to hunger.
Even the barren has borne seven,
And she who has many children has become feeble.

“The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.

The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up.

He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.

“For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
And He has set the world upon them.

He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
“For by strength no man shall prevail.

The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces;
From heaven He will thunder against them.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to His king,
And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

Hannah’s Prayer is one of thanksgiving and joy for the blessing of Samuel; the son she desired but could not have because the Lord had closed her womb. But although she was sorrowful, she pleaded with The Lord and made a vow.

"O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head." [1 Samuel 1:11]

The remaining nine verses, extol the goodness and mercy of God in lifting up the weak and bringing down the arrogant and strong, but also tells of His forgiveness and His saving strength and power. It is also fundamentally a story and prayer of how The Lord’s answer to prayer will always bring life — literally and spiritually — while the plans and motivations of men result in spiritual dryness and death.

This prayer speaks not only of external circumstances, but of what happens within us. It is about the birth of His life, the life of Jesus in each of us, that we may bring forth a son.

Hannah, (her name means ‘grace’), is true to her vow, by committing her son back to God. In verses 27 and 28 of 1 Samuel 1, we read: “For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD." So they worshiped the LORD there.

It is important for us to remember that all we have of value — our own lives and livelihood, our families; all that we love and cherish — our faith — belongs to Him, and is His gift to us. It is a gift that will spoil if we try to hoard it and bury it away. We must give it back into His care, for only He has the true breath of life and love.

Meditate On These Things

JOB 9:2-6
"Truly I know it is so,
But how can a man be righteous before God?
If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
He shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

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THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION — Esther Mui

A HOLY OCCUPATION: Oswald Chambers on PRAYER
— requires CHILDLIKENESS --

WHEN WE LIVE in the secret place it becomes impossible for us to doubt God, we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the center of the common round you find God there all the time.
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’]

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