Quotation: 1 Samuel, 2:1-10
The quotation is famous as Hannah's prayer. Today, looking through her experiences which lead her to the prayer, we would like to think how should we have fellowship with the God. In her prayer, we find she was confident that the LORD created us, set up anything in this world, and He does everything. Her prayer testifies the authority of the God in this world, and its confidence. Behind His deeds, we find His love to us. Once, Jesus told to a Samaritan woman, John, 4:14
Hannah's heart was just as He told to a Samaritan woman. Like this, our hearts will be filled with the utmost REJOICE only when they are filled with Jesus. However, we can't pray in this way without doing anything. For this, we have to learn His rules through bitterness. Thus, let's find what kind of experiences lead her to this prayer. Her name, Hannah means "grace", or "mercy". But in the beginning of her story, she was a woman in deep agony, distinctly unsuitable to her name. 1 Samuel, 1:15
As she confesses, she was burdened with a lot of troubles. One is that she didn't have a child. In that era, a woman not having a child was regarded as unblessed and despised. However, she had much, much deeper troubles. 1 Samuel, 1:2
1 Samuel, 1:6-7
Perhaps, Peninnah's cruel treatment gave much pain to her than not having a child. There may have been a kind of bullying. Nothing is written Peninnah's mind, I think her jealousy and desire to get all the attention of her husband made her do so. If we are Hannah, what shall we think, what shall we do? At first, we will try to make husband understand our feelings. We may say, "You have to think much of my feelings!" Or, we may plead to husband for changing Peninnah's attitude. Moreover, we may threaten him with saying, "Choose one out of me or her.". We will feel strong hatred not only on husband, but also on Peninnah. We may try to revenge on her. Or, we may ask ourselves if we are wrong. And against the God, thoughts why we can't have any children may fill us. Most of us will do so. Actually, she must have had such feelings within her. 1 Samuel, 1:16
Words, "my great anguish and grief" specifically express her feeling. But she didn't behave like us. We can find three standout features in her attitude. First, she came face-to-face with the LORD. She looked up no one but Him. We know literary, "commit all troubles to the LORD, or we can't be released from them", but it is so hard to do it indeed. In worse cases, we may think "my prayers won't be heard...", or "I have been praying so much...", and will be driven to desperation. But Hannah took a different attitude. 1 Samuel, 1:9
Here, we should take it as she stood up in the faith rather than stood up because she finished eating. In the Holy Bible, a word standing is often used in the meaning of standing in the faith. 1 Samuel, 1:10
She didn't abandon herself to welling up feelings within her. On the other hand, the first thing she did was to move a step toward the LORD, and look through herself by praying to Him. In troubles, we should look at only the LORD, not at people and at things in this world. It is important to talk everything to the God, not to people. We know it with His words, but we tend to ask someone to solve our troubles. But there won't be good results. For certain, we are sometimes comforted by confessing to others. Beyond that, if we are sympathized, we will feel a situation is improved. But as a whole, sympathies are just sympathies, won't lead to a solution. Rather than that, we will think we are right by sympathies, it will encourage our arrogance. In our fellowship, we should be cautious about what we call humanism. It is what comes out of our fleshly thinking, native characteristics, not relying on the LORD, such as, "I want to do it for someone...", "I will try it...". In these activities, we won't be blessed, on the contrary, we will prevent what the LORD is going to do. As a result, troubles must be solved between someone in trouble and Jesus. By reading the Holy Bible, we find people live not in the relationship with others, but in the relationship with the LORD. A purpose of our lives is to reveal His glory and praise Him. In this world, it is definitely thought the cause of troubles among people lie in themselves. It is apparently wrong. The cause is in the relationship between the LORD and them. By the way, He never makes mistakes, the cause of troubles is within us, and the clue to the solution is in this fact. In troubles of personal relationships, we tend to insist on our righteousness, destroy other's opinion, and think "I am right, and they are wrong". This thought is wrong. It is very important to know that these troubles are provoked for us to give glory to the LORD, and know He planned and permitted it. The purpose is that we experience we ourselves are fruitfully helped by the LORD. Also, as a Christian believing Jesus, we will be a good testimony. Lately, Hannah knew her troubles were given for blessing. The word, standing in the faith, brings an impression that we should try hard with determined resolution, but the fact is opposite. Standing in the faith is a situation that we are totally crushed and there's no ohter helper than Jesus. While we try to solve troubles by ourselves, He will never help us. Because if they are solved, we will necessarily think we did it by ourselves. The second feature in her attitude is that she poured out her soul to the LORD. 1 Samuel, 1:15-16
She testified she prayed in bitterness for long time, asking a comfort from above. This is an essence of the faith. First thing we should do is to be calm down, and pour out our souls to the LORD. No other ways won't lead us to the solution. In our fellowship, it is frequently asked how we shall pray. I think they ask what words we should use in prayers. But it is the most important that we should pour out our souls to the LORD, just written in Hannah's testimony. We can pray to Jesus any distresses, complaints and anything. There's no restriction in prayers. In any case, we should pour out our soul to Him who can do anything. Romans, 8:15
As we are familiar child of the LORD, why not talk and ask honestly anything to Him? Children won't hesitate, thinking "I wonder if I shall tell this or not?", they tell their parents what they think, what they want. In this way, we can talk to Him like, "Hi! Dad." For example, when small children ask their parents to buy them toys, do you think they would say, "My father, I thank you very much for your nursing. This time, of course I recognize this is a very unreasonable personal favor, but ..." But don't you think we pray in this way? We may be too much concerned about the words to pour out our souls. Jesus is so close to us. He Himself once called the LORD "Abba, Father" in His prayer. Mark, 14:35-36
Jesus was crucified for our sins. He had a flesh like us, He experienced the same pain. Another answer to a question, how we shall pray, is an attitude. The LORD will work for us the most effectively, if we are sure Jesus will definitely answer our prayers, He will accept us, He will think of us as the most precious, He will fulfill the best thing out of our prayers. Not always our wish will be fulfilled. As Jesus knows everything, He will answer what is necessary for us among our wishes. Because we are children of the LORD and slaves. The third feature in her attitude is that she properly set herself before the LORD. 1 Samuel, 1:16
She prayed for a long time, not asking Him to give her a child, neither to change husband's mind, neither to prevent her from Peninnah's bullying. She prayed for controlling her great anguish and grief. She poured out her bitterly wounded soul to the LORD, not to people, and she wanted to be released from troubles as His answer to her prayers. For this reason, she said "I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." Don't you think, not like Hannah, we pray looking down at Jesus who was really humble, giving orders to Him. She didn't want a solution of troubles itself, but she wanted Him to take away from herself a evil thing, distresses and complaints which separate her from the LORD. If we fairly face to Jesus, we will first be informed about ourselves. We sometimes find our iniquities. At first we must repent our iniquities and sins. Also, it is necessary to pray if there's any sin we should repent before Him, please let me know it. A wish without repentance is hard to be fulfilled. Especially, in case of troubles between people, the cause often lies on both sides, we should thoroughly examine if we are righteous before the LORD. If we pour out our souls through prayers and a fellowship with Jesus, we will be released from our anguish and grief, and filled with a peace and a REJOICE. Then, we will be able to forgive someone we hate, and won't be bothered by once bothered us, and will be released from anything. As a result, we will be protected from any enemies and given a triumph. It is quite mysterious, but it is true. Psalms, 131:1-3
This is David's testimony. If we set ourselves properly before Him, we will be able to pray in this way. Hannah poured out her soul in this attitude. How was she blessed? How was she released from her troubles? 1 Samuel, 1:11
It is a strange prayer, because a woman who once wanted a child, made a vow to give it to Him. I wonder what made her pray in this way? I think her troubles were beyond our imagination, and she knew there were evil thoughts within her against her husband and Peninnah. Thus, she made a vow in bitter tears, cutting off all her thoughts related to people around her. As a result, her prayer was based on a relationship between the LORD and her, no other person appeared in it. Also, what she wanted was not to fulfill her desire, but to be more confident about her faith. She wanted a realization that the great Creator loves her and stares at her. These prayers will be definitely answered. Don't we see a light in her vow, seeking a comfort from the believing LORD, "If you fulfill my prayer, I will give a child to the LORD for all the days of its life." 1 Samuel, 1:18
1 Samuel, 1:20
A prayer changed a woman who couldn't eat so much. Her prayer pleased Him, she was given a son. She named him Samuel. His name, Samuel means "name of God". As her vow, she gave Samuel to Him. 1 Samuel, 1:28
by the way, 1 Samuel, 1:22
Several years, Hannah nursed her baby. As I'm not a woman, I don't exactly know her feeling, but I think it was more bitter to take him after he was weaned than to take him just after a labor. But she did as her vow. I think it was because she constantly had a fellowship with the LORD. Psalms, 62:8
It is written in the Holy Bible tens of times that we should always rely on the God. But, actually, do we always rely on Him? Do we always pour out our souls before Him? Do we always start something after we checked if we are righteous before Him? By reading her prayer, we are encouraged to repent these three points. The LORD is trustworthy, because Jesus died for us. 1 Peter, 2:21-25
Hannah's attitude was the one Jesus directed. Jesus doesn't require anything difficult for us. He just says, "Tell me everything.", and "Follow me." If we don't do it, He can't do anything. He knows well that we are weak, stupid, and impotent, even unable to set properly ourselves before the LORD like her. Also, as Jesus showed, when they hurled their insults at us, if we retaliate them, we won't be blessed. In this meaning, I think we are so selfish. If we leave a situation as if distresses and complaints were swirling, we will more and more separate from Him, and our hope will gradually go away and turn into desperation. Romans, 8:32
Jesus gave us His life, He can do anything. How will He not give us His abundant grace? This is Paul's testimony. When we want to be released from troubles, we often try to rely on people, but first thing we should really do is to leave from people. Then, we should leave from ourselves. We should have a close fellowship with the LORD one for one. In troubles, we think there's no more bitter trouble. But, because Jesus experienced all possible troubles, He can necessarily give us a solution to any troubles. If we pray to the LORD, he will surely lead us, and bless us. We don't know how it will be. It may be solved where we don't know, and when we don't know. Jesus can move into one's mind and change it. Just before Mose's exodus, He moved into Pharaoh's mind, made him to think he will release Israelite. When Daniel testified not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, He changed the chief official's mind. It is an encouragement for us that if we set ourselves properly before Him, He will move into other's mind, and support us. At last, let's see how she was blessed. 1 Samuel, 2:20-21
Samuel grew up before Him as she wished. She was given five more children. We should know that Hannah acquired everything by pouring out her souls, and giving away anything but the LORD. |