1. Hannah, Who Prayed for That One Thing
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Have you ever prayed for something for so long that, after a while, you wondered if there was any point in bothering God with your request? Or have you ever wanted something so badly that all life outside of receiving the request seemed pointless?
Such was the life and prayer of Hannah, wife of Elkanah, who lived in Israel during the latter days of the Judges, approximately 1100 years before the birth of Christ. In those days, if a woman was barren—childless—she was considered to be under a curse. She was a failure because, by their standards, a girl was born to grow up, marry, have babies, and mind her family. Without giving birth, a married woman might face the disgrace of divorce and destitution. But, by their code, to keep a married woman from being divorced or destitute if she were barren, she could allow her husband to marry a servant girl or handmaiden (remember Sarai, Abram, and Hagar’s story in Genesis 16). This may have been the case of Hannah and Elkanah. Elkanah loved Hannah (1 Samuel 1:5), but he had another wife, Peninnah, who had produced children for him.
Much like the story of Sarai and her handmaiden Hagar, Peninnah taunted Hannah. Year after year, the Scriptures tell us, this family went to the House of the Lord in Shiloh to worship and sacrifice. And, year after year, Peninnah provoked Hannah “in order to irritate her.” Hannah wept and refused to eat, even though Elkanah encouraged her with his offerings of food and words of adoration.
Until one day… when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 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, and no razor will ever be used on his head” (1 Samuel 1:9-11 NIV).
Note this—Hannah stood up. She’d had enough. We don’t read of her praying before this time—although, surely, she had—but she now had a new level of desperation in her petition to God. So much so that Eli thought she was drunk and admonished her for her behavior. Hannah explained to Eli that she was not drunk but that she was “a woman deeply troubled . . . pouring out my soul to the LORD” (vs. 17).
Secondly, Hannah was now in a place where she was ready to give up something to get it, specifically if God gave her a son, she would give him back to God for His purposes. These were not words spoken haphazardly; she meant every syllable.
Eli heard Hannah’s story and blessed her. You could say Hannah now had a prayer partner. When she returned to her husband, her face was no longer downcast. Now, she ate because her belief that God would answer her request was greater than the provoking of her rival.
Hannah had also been specific in her request. She “got real” with God, which is how I believe He desires us to come to Him, always. She wanted not just a child, but a son. She is so specific that I’m surprised that we don’t read that she tells God, “I want him to have dark eyes and reddish-brown hair.”
Years ago, my husband and I were house shopping. I found myself growing frustrated as I combed through the myriad real estate websites until, one day, a friend said, “Pray, Eva Marie. And when you pray, tell God exactly what you want in your house. Be specific. Whatever it is you want, tell Him.” I did… and she was right. With everything else going on in the world, God heard the desires of my heart when it came to what we hope will be our “last home.” The house of my prayers became the house we moved into.
So it was with Hannah.
Early the next morning they arose and worshipped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him” (1:19, 20 emphasis mine).
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