By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Hannah: Trust-Filled Prayer
1 Samuel 1:9–11, 17–18, 26–28; 2:1–3
As the father of two incredible sons, Samuel and Elijah, it is difficult for me to approach a text like 1 Samuel 1–2 objectively. These sons did not get their names haphazardly. My younger son, Elijah, bears the name of the person most associated in the Bible with zeal for God. The hope my wife and I held onto as we gave our son this name was that our Elijah would possess the same zeal for the Lord that the biblical Elijah displayed.
Before Elijah, though, came Samuel — not only in the biblical narrative but also in our lives. For many years it seemed unlikely that my wife and I would be able to conceive and bear children. Like many young couples, we got married, planned to see the world and thought we would then settle down to have a family. Sadly, while the marrying and seeing the world components of our plan progressed as we had hoped, the settling down to have a family element did not. One year led to another and another as our attempts to have kids seemed doomed to failure.
And then finally, miraculously in the same year when we had nearly given up hope, my wife discovered she was at long last pregnant. Each day from pregnancy test to delivery room was filled with tension as we hoped and prayed this long-awaited conception would culminate in the birth of our first child. When on Sept. 9, 1997, we welcomed a healthy son into the world, no other name would do than Samuel. As the biblical Hannah had prayed for her son, so we had prayed for ours. And the name she had given to her son, Samuel, could hardly be improved upon for our own son, another Samuel.
Bring your needs to God. (1:9–11)
Hannah’s story is one fraught with sorrow. Although her husband, Elkanah, loved her more than his other wife, Peninnah, Hannah’s inability to have children was a constant source of anguish to her. Finally Hannah could bear her childless state no longer and she poured out her heart to God in bitter tears and sorrow.
God hears your prayers and answers. (1:17–18, 26–28)
The priest at the temple where Hannah offered up her prayers to God did not immediately recognize what she was doing. At first he supposed she had drunk too much and was not herself. Hannah assured Eli that she had not been drinking but had instead been praying as fervently as she knew how. With Eli’s blessing she continued to offer up her requests, promising God that if He would only give her a son, she would give that son back to God by letting Him serve as an attendant at the temple.
Respond to God with thankful praise. (2:1–3)
Against all odds, Hannah’s prayers were answered. Though there was no earthly indication that Hannah would ever be able to bear children, through her heartfelt appeal to God she was miraculously allowed to conceive. Just as she had promised, Hannah fulfilled her vow to dedicate her son to the temple. This son, Samuel, would grow up to be Israel’s last and most faithful judge. This was the Samuel who would anoint Israel’s first king, Saul, and Israel’s greatest king, David.
Whatever heights this son would attain, the most poignant moments of his life would remain with the world of his mother. When Hannah prayed, she appealed to God’s deep love and care for the powerless. And when she bore a son as a result of God’s gracious intervention, she did not hesitate to follow through with her vow to give that son back to God.
Share with others: