1 Samuel 1:9-19 – Prayer, deploy it to deal with discouragement

The account of these verses takes us to what happened during one of Elkanah's family pilgrimages to Shiloh. We are told that he loved Hannah more than Peninnah. And that must have created the rivalry between his two wives. Because of her barrenness, Hannah would be scoffed and scorned at by her rival, causing her to hurt bitterly. Elkanah, who understood her plight would comfort her by assuring her of his love. Though she found some relief by his understanding, yet she was discouraged.

In life, people confront their plight and discouragement differently. Some would resign to their plight and sit passively doing nothing. Others would negatively bemoan their misfortune and become envious and jealous of what others have. Still, some would live life bitterly complaining, murmuring, gripping and finding fault with others. For Hannah, though she was sad and discouraged, she took a very positive step to confront her situation. This is also a step highly recommended for any believer who is discouraged. She took her plight to the Lord. Her prayer leaves us with a model to approach God. Hannah came to God earnestly and not casually. This could be seen in how she poured out her prayers with sober tears. Not only did she pray earnestly, but she also came humbly yet confidently. This could be seen in the way she crafted her request. Hannah did not beat around the bush but expressed her concern to the Lord with specificity. She desired to have a son. Then we can see that her prayer was not a self-serving one. The reason she wanted a son was so that she could dedicate him to the service of the Lord. What a way to pray. No wonder God was so quick to respond to her earnest prayer.  

Apparently, her prayer was misunderstood by Eli, who was the serving high priest. The reason he viewed Hannah with suspicion was because of his experience of seeing how carelessly people treated the Lord’s altar. People often come lacking the reverence that’s due to God. Eli must have seen them ever too often in his ministry. This teaches us that despite our personal experience, we must learn never to pigeon-hole other’s behaviors. If we want to be effective in helping others in their walk with God, we need to develop the spirit of discernment. While we don’t want to label what others would do, we need to learn to appraise every situation discerningly. When Eli realized that Hannah was a serious worshipper, he encouraged her. This is what we too must do to encourage others in their pursuit of God. So, we see Hannah went away positive and encouraged. She went away with her burden lifted. Hannah’s experience reminds us of Paul telling us in Philippians 4:6. We must “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Prayer does bring changes!