THE POWER OF A PRAYING MOTHER

1 Samuel 1:9-11 

9 On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. 10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. 

11 Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

1 Samuel 2:1-10 

          Hannah prayed:

My heart rejoices in the Lord;
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no one besides you!
And there is no rock like our God.
3 Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by him.
4 The bows of the warriors are broken,
but the feeble are clothed with strength.
5 Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,
but the woman with many sons pines away.
6 The Lord brings death and gives life;
he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.
7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the trash heap.
He seats them with noblemen
and gives them a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
he has set the world on them.
9 He guards the steps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked perish in darkness,
for a person does not prevail by his own strength.
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;
he will thunder in the heavens against them.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give power to his king;
he will lift up the horn of his anointed.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

SERIES ON PRAYER: HANNAH'S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Outside of the magnificent prayer of Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, one of the greatest prayers of thanksgiving and adoration, followed the birth of a baby boy who went on to become one of the greatest prophets of God! He was a miracle baby and accomplished what God had ordained. This man was Samuel. 

Samuel's mother Hannah was childless and one of two wives of Elkanah. Year after year, Hannah could come to the temple in Shiloh (Jerusalem was not yet ordained as the Capitol of Israel). She would pray for the Lord to give her a child with such fervor, passion and heartfelt emotion that Eli the head priest thought she was drunk.  Hannah kept praying year after year. She then promised the Lord, that if He gave her a son, she would give the boy back to the Lord, as a servant.

God gave Hannah a son named Samuel, which means "God listened...or requested of God". Hannah kept her promise and dedicated Samuel to the Lord, in the care of Eli the Priest. In joy and gratitude, she prayed this prayer of Thanksgiving, which if read in the correct way, should be a guide to us for both personal growth, as well as intercession for others. 

Hannah's Prayer
Praise & Worship:
1  And Hannah prayed and said,
My heart exults in the Lord;
    my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
    because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 “There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.

Acknowledge His Attributes:
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by Him, actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.

Acknowledge the Power of God: 6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them, He has set the world.
9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.

The Lord is to be feared...and loved:
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    against them,  He will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    He will give strength to His king
    and exalt the horn of His anointed.” 
(This prayer is found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10)

There are many aspect of this prayer, which if prayed in the spirit, could apply to all men and women. Like all the prayers of the Bible, make it your own and lift up the Name of the Lord. There is nothing more powerful than praying the Scriptures back to the Lord, in engaged, full on, praise and worship. 

WOMEN OF DYNASTY, DYNAMIC PRAYER & DESTINY

SPECIAL MOTHER'S DAY SERIES: 

TODAY: HANNAH!

In honor of some of the more impactful mothers of the Bible, let’s take a look at four mothers briefly: RAHAB, RUTH, HANNAH and of course – MARY!

Rahab and Ruth were women of Dynasty.

Hannah was a woman of Dynamic Prayer.

Mary – the mother of Jesus – a woman of Destiny!
Three of these Four Women are directly in the Line of Jesus - the King of the Universe, LORD and Savior of Mankind!

HANNAH, a woman of Dynamic Prayer:

We have all known and/or heard stories of mothers who prayed for their children all their lives. Some pray for their salvation or their coming back to the Lord. Many pray for life and career circumstances, or a family issue. No matter what, there is nothing like the prayers of a mother!

Honore de Balzac said “the heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness”…and so a mom prays.

 George Elliot said “A mother's yearning feels the presence of the cherished child even in the degraded man”….there is nothing like a mother praying for a lost son or daughter, who has been caught up in the vortex of worldly sin.

I love this Irish proverb “A man loves his sweetheart the most; his wife the best, but his mother the longest”!

Then there is this Jewish proverb “God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers”.

All of these underscore the character of a mother, whose heart is always for her children. So when Godly Hannah could not have a child, and most likely, was beginning to feel less than a woman, she did the only thing we know how to do in a crisis – PRAY!

The setting is the Shiloh where the Lord’s Presence had been. Many came from the tribes of Israel up to Shiloh to worship the Holy One of Israel as will be required of the Nations during the 1000 years reign of Jesus Christ. Just as an aside – even with Jesus sitting on His Throne in the Temple in Jerusalem, there will be people still being born etc. who will rebel and REFUSE to go up to Jerusalem and worship Him, annually! No need to tell you what will happen after that!

At this time, God’s priests were the sons of Eli – Hophni and Phinehas and He had in mind a Godly man to be His next priest! The reason for this is the following: Hophni and Phinehas made some American Televangelists look like Snow White! Their aging father Eli, a major minister of the Lord, never disciplined his sons, and contrary to the Law, participated in their skimming MORE than their portion of the priestly food! Not just the corruption and bribery, but old Hophni and Phinehas were sleeping with every woman they could…violating the Holiness of God – RIGHT INSIDE THE TEMPLE.

HANNAH’S PRAYER:

Here is her prayer which was so fervent that the insufferable Eli, who ignored his sons’ transgressions, accused Hannah of being drunk! 

The Word of the Lord: "She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:10-11 ESV)


Let’s take a closer look at the methodology of her prayer because it contains lessons for not just moms, but anyone whose heart seeks after God and feels a tremendous burden to intercede or simply beg for HELP! We look at it seriatim, in bullet form order:

-          Hannah was in deep, gut wrenching sorrow at being childless and all that went with it.

-          Hannah began praying, with tears in complete brokenness before the Throne.

-          Hannah sought a quid pro quo, almost!

-          Hannah then made promise in her supplication.

-          Hannah fulfilled her promise after Samuel the future Prophet was born, when God answered her prayer!

There had to be complete brokenness before the Lord for Him to open up Heaven and release a baby to be born to Hannah. You see this all through her prayer. However, while her belief and faith that God could do what she asked, what was even MORE impressive was her selfless sacrifice and devotion to God!

God not only made her complete as a woman of God and a mother, but He was glorified because of His Grace to this humble woman. In a sense, Hannah is similar to the next Great Mother in the Bible, whom history will talk about until the end of time! Like Mary, Hannah gave her son to the Service of the Lord. Unlike Mary though, Hannah’s son was not God Who became man!

TOMORROW: MARY - THE GREATEST MOTHER OF THEM ALL!