1 Sam 1:8-18 – Hannah’s Desperate Prayer

1Sam 1:8

1. Elkana probably tries to be nice and comforts Hannah by saying “Why are you sad, you have me?”
   1. Not only was Hannah childless and bullied, she was also misunderstood by her husband.

1Sam 1:10

1. Hannah found herself in a very difficult situation, and when things are at their worst, she does the right thing; she turns to God in prayer.
2. Maybe you are in a difficult situation? Do what Hannah did; turn to God.

1Sam 1:11

1. Lord of Hosts means “Lord of hosts” or “Lord of armies”.
   1. Hannah felt attacked by Peninnah and misunderstood by her own husband, and she calls God Zabaoth because she knows that no matter how much she is attacked, God is always stronger.
2. That “no razor shall come upon his head” means that Hannah made a “vow of repentance” as described in Numbers 6:1-8.
   1. Being a Nazarite meant letting one’s hair grow, abstaining from strong drink and being “holy to the Lord”.
   2. An almost identical story is the story of Samson whose parents were also childless but who had Samson and made him a Nazarite (Judges 13:2-5).
   3. Four Christians conclude their vow in Acts 21:23-24.
3. Hannah makes a promise to God; if God gives her a son, she will give the son back to God.
   1. But God already had a plan, God wanted to use Samuel to save all of Israel from the Philistines, but God never forces himself on us humans.
      1. God wants us to freely give what we own and have to God so that he can use it.
      2. Hannah had probably prayed this prayer to have a child many times, but it is only now that she is truly surrendering everything to God, and that is exactly what God has been waiting for all along.
   1. I don’t think Hannah would have been prepared to give her son away in this way if she hadn’t been so desperate and desperate.
      1. So even though it may seem difficult at the moment, God can actually push us to a place where you and I are ready to give everything to God.
      2. Of course, the best thing would have been to give everything to God before we got down on our knees, but most of the time we humans work in such a way that as long as everything in life works well and life is wonderful, we don’t think much about God.
      3. But when life crashes and things get tough, we’re usually quick to turn to God.
      4. As slow as we humans are to turn to God when life is going well, we are just as quick to turn to God when life is difficult.
      5. We should learn to find a balance and turn to God both when things are going well in life and when they are not.

1Sam 1:15-17

1. Hannah defends herself and says that she has not been drinking at all, but that she is praying in sorrow.
   1. Then a surprised Eli replies that God will give her what she asked for!
   2. Hannah is happy and lets go of her grief.
2. Imagine what would have happened if Hannah had not turned to God?
   1. By then she had locked up her grief and despair in her heart.
   2. Then she would not have received her answer to prayer.
   3. Then, over time, she would have become a bitter and angry person.
3. Do you have a grief or something similar that you are carrying?
   1. Let it out!
   2. Turn to God and cry it out, hand over your prayer to God, don’t shut it inside you.

1Sam 1:18

1. Hannah believes the priest’s words and walks away happy!
   1. Somehow Hannah understood that it was not just the priest Eli’s words but that God was behind them.
2. Just because a priest or pastor says something doesn’t mean it’s true, but Hannah seems to have had a supernatural realization that this was a promise from God!