1 Samuel 1:1-2:21
This blog post is an excerpt from the booklet entitled, "Women of the Bible" - Volume 2.
It is written as if Hannah is sharing her heart directly with the reader.
Thank you for allowing the author to use poetic license throughout this article
while seeking to stay true to the Biblical account of Hannah's life.
I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.
For this child I prayed;and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him.
1 Samuel 1:26-27
Hello, Friend. My name is Hannah which means “gracious” or “favour.” I am married to a Levite whose name is Elkanah. We sought after the Lord although my husband took another wife as was the custom in our day. However, I was his favorite wife of the two. He gave to me more than his other wife. Maybe this was because he felt sorry for me. For some reason, the Lord had shut up my womb. You would think this would make me less intimidating, but that was not the case. I regularly felt the wrath of his other wife, Peninnah. Instead of her being at peace while enjoying the ability to bear Elkanah children, she used her advantage to taunt me. Regularly, she would give me a hard time which caused me to weep bitterly and to be unable to eat.
Have you ever experienced this kind of torture? Has someone constantly been unkind to you? It is the worst! I have found a lot of the time, the closest people like family or dear friends are the ones who can be most unkind or can inflict the deepest of wounds. Why is that? I know I do not want this to be in my life or to cause this hurt for someone else.
So each year I go up to the house of the Lord to pray for a child. Each and every year, Peninnah has provoked me concerning my being barren. Sometimes I wonder if I am desiring to have a baby and praying like crazy just so her torment would cease.
After all, I am promising to give my child back to the Lord to live in the Temple which means I would forego rearing him myself so this request would be answered. My husband did not understand my emotions. He even asked…
Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not?
and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
1 Samuel 1:8
What was I supposed to answer to that? It seemed as if only God understood my sorrow. There will later be a Psalm of David that says,
Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
Psalm 56:8
I believe that God hears and will answer my prayers. I trust that He will give me the desires of my heart and this time when I go to the house of the Lord, I am going to share my heart with my pastor and leave my cares at the altar. I am not going to allow Peninnah to win. I will have the victory because my faith is in my all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God.
When I arrived to pray, I became much more emotional than I expected. I wept sorely and fell upon the altar. To make matters worse, I was in such emotional pain that when I prayed from the depths of my heart, my lips moved but no sound came out. Eli, the high priest, thought I was drunk! It took some convincing, but he finally understood that I was pouring out my very soul to the Lord in prayer.
I am so thankful that God hears and understands every cry from our heart even if we do not know how to pray or what words to speak.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26
This was certainly true of me on this day for this year of prayer. That day I vowed this vow:
O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid,
and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine
handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life.
1 Samuel 1:11
So you can see I not only prayed for a baby, but I specifically asked for a boy. My faith was increased when Eli confirmed that God had heard my prayer and would grant my petition and then he sent me to go in peace. This year was different. I left my burden at the altar and went forth in victory. I even went home happy and was able to eat. It was so good! My husband and I rejoiced together and I found out I was with child. Yes, God had heard and answered my prayer. But it was not overnight. I had gone to the house of the Lord year after year to no avail. But I did not stop praying. I determined that God would see my faith and one day allow me to bear a child.
When the time came, I delivered a son and called his name, “Samuel” saying, “Because I have asked him of the LORD.” I waited until the child was weaned to bring him to God’s house. Then I gave him to the Lord to remain a servant of the Lord for all his days. I shared my heart with Eli concerning this precious child, my gift from the Lord.
Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my
petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD;
as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD.
1 Samuel 1:26-28
I must admit it was extremely hard to leave Samuel there. But I promised the Lord and I would keep my vow. Now instead of going year after year to the house of the Lord to pray to have a child, I went to worship the Lord and to visit Samuel. Each year I would bring him a new coat. It was a wonderful feeling to see my faith become sight and to be reminded of what God had done in my life. Eli always reminded me that the Lord had given me this child on loan to give back to Him. My prayers turned to asking the Lord to use my son in a great way.
After that, the Lord blessed me and Elkanah with three more sons and two daughters. There were never recorded any more problems with Peninnah. God answered that prayer too. What a great privilege for me to see my son grow each year in the Lord! He was greatly used by the Lord. God truly hears and answers prayer! My final prayer was recorded in the Bible in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. It starts off like this:
My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, Mine horn is exalted in the LORD: My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: For there is none beside thee: Neither is there any rock like our God.
1 Samuel 1:1-2
Hannah’s son, Samuel, is a type of Christ. Look at the parallels of these verses.
And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour
both with the LORD, and also with men.
1 Samuel 2:26
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Luke 2:52
Samuel grew up to be a great man of God. He was a prophet and a judge over Israel. He anointed King Saul and King David over the Kingdom of Israel. He was able to see God work in his life in part because he had a praying mother.
Hannah reminds me of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Both were given a son, both recognized their dependence upon God as their Saviour, and both modeled godly mothering.
I want so much to be like these mothers. They were humble, and God used them greatly. Both cheered their children on and encouraged them in their work for the Lord. They put God’s will above their own desires and decided His way included what was best for them and their children.
Look how Hannah’s prayer parallels Mary’s prayer:
There are so many beautiful truths we can learn from Hannah’s story.
1. Being a mother is a great blessing because children are precious gifts from the Lord.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3
Hannah taught us through her prayer of faith that we are to love the Lord more than His gifts. Sometimes mothers put their children first, ahead of their husband and even ahead of the Lord. This ought not to be. Even when Hannah had her child, she still went to the house of the Lord faithfully and God blessed her with more children. Hannah kept her relationship right with Elkanah although he did not think so at first. We see her alongside him in each aspect of the story. Together, they served the Lord and reared their children for Him.
2. God always rewards us when we react by showing kindness and undeserved love.
Nowhere in Scripture do we ever see Hannah retaliating with unkindness to Peninnah even though we would have understood if she did. I believe this is one reason why God honored her faith. She did not stoop to her enemy's level. Why do we women treat each other like this so many times? Christian women should never be known for cattiness, sharpness, or evil speaking of other Christian women. We have a Bible verse hanging in our church restroom to remind us ladies (but mostly me) to be like the virtuous woman in this area.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Proverbs 31:26
Sometimes we do well with others but are not as gracious to our families. We withhold kind words or compliments. Undoubtedly, you have heard my husband quote what his grandmother would say to him after he got saved, “The hardest place to be a Christian is in your own home.” May the Lord help all of us to be more like Christ, especially in this area.
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.
1 Peter 2:22-23
3. It pays to pray. Do not stop praying! God hears your prayers and every prayer matters. We need to establish a continual, daily coming to the Lord with a consuming faith and belief that God will hear and answer prayer.
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Studying Hannah’s story always convicts me to pray more for my children. I remember praying for them in the womb. I would sing to them and tell them how much Jesus loved them and how good He was to their mommy and daddy. Then after their birth, I realized how much prayer I needed. It seemed like all the books and articles we read still did not fully prepare us for this monumental task and responsibility of rearing a baby.
As they continued to grow, I asked the Lord to make their hearts tender to the Gospel so they would be saved. I prayed they would understand baptism and continually follow the Lord. I asked the Lord to help them do well in school and be good to their teachers and friends. We know the Lord is still working on our family as we pray. That is why I am thankful for your patience in allowing my children to make mistakes and grow in the Lord. My prayers are always filled with thanksgiving to God for giving us such a loving church family where my children can learn to follow Christ.
As my daughters are now growing older, I have found myself asking the Lord to keep them (and me) from acting more like Peninnah than Hannah. Then I have found myself praying for boyfriends and future husbands as well as good college roommates. Lately, we are praying for good jobs and vehicles for our girls as they prepare for college tuition and future plans. We pray for our children to stay faithful to the Lord even when they do not understand everything, when there are hurts or challenges, and when things do not go their way.
I pray that they will love their parents and siblings like they should in kindness and unconditional love. As I have said, our family’s story is continually being written and the jury is still out as to whether or not our children will serve the Lord, but they will always have a praying (though imperfect) momma who loves them and believes God for their future. May we be like Hannah who had faith and did what was right even when it was difficult. Then we will see God reward us as He receives the glory and others are brought to Jesus.
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