Hannah                                        1 Samuel 1:1-11

Today we read about Hannah. She is the wife of a man named Elkanah. Elkanah also had another wife named Peninnah. Elkanah was a good man and husband. Each year he would go to the town of Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifices to God.

Verses 4 and 5, “Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give a portion of the meat to his wife Peninnah and her children. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.”

Elkanah’s actions and demonstration of his great love for Hannah made Peninnah jealous. She would use the fact that only she bore Elkanah children as ammunition to irritate and provoke Hannah. Hannah wept over this time and time again. Verse 11, “And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…”

Let’s take a closer look at Hannah. Here is a woman who is greatly loved by her husband. And her husband’s second wife deliberately and purposely provokes her and makes her miserable. And understand, Peninnah’s taunts were severe because in that society, a woman who could not bare a child was looked down upon. Hannah’s situation was more than difficult to tolerate. But Hannah had a love and trust of God as we can see by her prayer.

How do you respond to someone who deliberately provokes you? Do you give an angry retort? Do you try to provoke them? Look at our society, people who accidentally irritate someone are being shot and killed simply because they pulled into the wrong driveway.

Again I ask, what is your response to deliberate or accidental provocation? What was Hannah’s? It was trust in the Lord, and it was sincere prayer. She didn’t ask God to remove Peninnah from her life, she asked God to see her misery. She prayed for God to see her and to give her a son. And then she promised God that she would dedicate her son to the Lord.

I ask again, what is your response to a difficult situation caused by another? Is it prayer? If it is, what kind of prayer? “God, will you cause my boss to be fired?” “God, will you make my neighbor just go away?” Anybody ever pray, “God, just make this person’s life as miserable as they’re making mine.” Hannah’s prayer was for herself, for her delivery without causing harm or discomfort for her provocateur. Have any of you prayed, “God, can you just make this better?” Hannah didn’t pray open ended prayers; she approached God with a direct and personal request.

 When we pray, direct prayers, do we honor God and promise him our praise for his intervention? Look at our reading, what did Hannah promise? “I will give him to the Lord                for all his days…” This prayer voices Hannah’s knowledge that only God can relieve her distress. She is promising to remember always that it was God who removed her anguish. And she promised her praise and worship to God for his solving her heartbreak.

When our problem is solved, do we recognize God’s hand, or do we just say, “Glad that’s over.” Do we promise God our praise and worship for his grace, or is it more like, “God, if you get me out of this I’ll go to church more often.” Do we really offer God something we have no intention of doing, or do we offer God a promise we intend to keep? Do we offer God a promise he can hold us to?

Earlier in verse 5 we read “…the Lord had closed her womb.” In verse 8, Hannah’s husband asks her, “Don’t I mean more to you than sons?” In other words, “Hannah, you’ve got me, isn’t my love enough?” Yes, Elkanah loved Hannah, but there is a place in each of our hearts that only God can fill, and though many deny it, a place only God’s presence and grace can fill.

Now, back to God preventing Hannah from having a child. Sometimes we just don’t see God missing from our life. Sometimes we don’t realize God is the only solution to our problem. And sometimes on these occasions, God will allow things to go wrong, or he will deny us something to cause us to see that he is missing, to cause us to finally turn to him. Through her honest prayer, through her honorable request, through her sincere promise of honor and worship, Hannah’s prayer was answered. 1 Samuel 1:20, “So, in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.”

So far Hannah has shown us life can have its hardships, that others can provoke us and cause us distress. Hannah also shows us that sometimes, no matter how faithful we are, God may allow these hardships to continue until we learn, or re-learn, we are dependent on him for resolution. And through her prayer, Hannah shows us, when we finally come to God in prayer, it should be a proper prayer. Do not ask God to cause another hardship. Do let God know you want his intercession. When you pray, don’t pray open ended prayers, be specific with your appeal. And don’t try to make a deal with God, offer God yourself. And if you make a promise to God, make one you are determined to keep, make one God will hold you to.

And the result of Hannah’s patience and prayer, a baby boy. 1 Samuel 1:20; “She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.’” Samuel means “God has heard.”

And her promise? 1 Samuel 1, verses 27 & 28, “I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So I now give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given to the Lord.”

Hannah shows us to be aware; aware of where, when, and how God responds to us,           how he answers our prayers. And Hannah teaches us not to backtrack or shortchange God, fulfill your promise and obligation to him.

Trust in God when you are provoked.

Pray to God when you are denied.

Honor God when you are answered.

Amen