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The Prayer of Hannah

Encouragements

10She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11And she made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”

12Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. 14Then Eli said to her, “How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.

– 1 Samuel 1:10-15
(NASB® © 2020)
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Hannah had a great need: she desperately wanted a son, but the Lord had closed her womb. In addition, she was repeatedly belittled and insulted by Pennina, her husband’s concubine. Pennina, her “adversary”, had children, but Hanna was childless until then. Although her husband sincerely loved her, he did not understand her. This ultimately led to her becoming bitter in her soul. In her despair, she turned to the Lord and brought her distress to Him in prayer. The way she prayed is remarkable and also extremely instructive for us.

  • She prayed to the right person: she prayed to the LORD(1 Sam 1:10).
  • She prayed urgently: she wept a lot(1 Sam 1:10).
  • She prayed humbly: she described herself as a handmaid(1 Sam 1:11).
  • She prayed specifically: she prayed for a son(1 Sam 1:11).
  • She prayed persistently: she prayed for a long time(1 Sam 1:12).
  • She prayed fervently: her heart was involved(1 Sam 1:13).
  • She prayed unreservedly: she poured out her heart(1 Sam 1:15).

The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer: she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel (“heard by God”)(1 Sam 1:20). But even before that, her prayer had had a positive effect on her health. It had changed her, for we read:

“And the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer the same”(1 Sam 1:18).

The great inner distress had burdened Hannah to such an extent that she became bitter in her soul, wept and stopped eating out of sadness(1 Sam 1:7, 10). But as soon as she had poured out her heart to the Lord, there was a clear change in her life, even though nothing had (yet) changed in her circumstances. But her heart had changed. And this was reflected in her life: On the one hand, she was once again able to go about her daily tasks and obligations (“she went her way”). On the other hand, she was eating again and her facial expression had also changed. Instead of sadness, he now reflected joy(Ps 34:6). In Philippians 4:6, 7 Paul urges us: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Hannah experienced this, and we too can experience it when we pour out our burdened and worry-filled hearts before God.

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