Devotions from The Dock: Day 4 - Hannah

Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you prayed if God gave it to you, you would give it back to Him? Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? Yet, that is precisely what the individual we’re about to look at did.

We’re almost done with our recap of what the Youth of Florida Family CFO discussed out on the dock early each morning. When Thursday came, it was time to study a little more about another great woman of the Bible… Hannah.

Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. (A detail that required a little extra discussion that early morning.) His other wife had given birth to multiple sons and daughters, while Hannah’s womb, “was closed”, and had not produced any offspring. This was a constant point of irritation to Hannah, as her rival “provoked her.” Once, during their annual visit to Shiloh, where they worshiped and sacrificed, Hannah, while in the presence of Eli, the priest, started weeping and praying.

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 1:10-11 NIV)

The way she was praying, with such emotion, Eli mistakenly thought she was drunk. Once he understood, he said to her, “go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” (1 Samuel 1:17)

It wasn’t long after that Hannah gave birth to a son and named him Samuel. To be true to her word, or her vow as the Bible calls it, she kept Samuel only “until he was weaned” (probably between 2 and 5 years) and then she brought him to Eli. It’s what she says and does next, that makes her story so remarkable…

Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:26-28)

So let’s get this straight... The son that Hannah wanted so desperately… that she wept and prayed before the Lord for, she gave back to God after he answered her prayer and blessed her with a son. Wow. And, the first half of the next chapter presents another prayer of Hannah’s – one of rejoicing and faith. (Just a little side note… sometimes I think my faith is strong and solid, and then I read an account like this and I realize I have an awful long way to go to be in the league of some of these folks!)

Now, how would we respond in a situation like this? Or, put another way, how DO we respond in situations like this? How many times do we pray, “Lord, if you do ‘X’, I promise I will do ‘Y’”. And how many times does God provide ‘X’ and we seem to forget about the ‘Y’ part? We’re good at making the vow, as Hannah did, but not so good at the follow through. Now, God is by no means in the deal-making business, but you see my point. What kind of faith and strength must Hannah have had to see that whole process through?

As for Samuel, what became of him? Oh, he just ended up being the man who anointed David King about 15 chapters later. Obviously playing a key part in history.

We read a little later in 1 Samuel Chapter 2 that the Lord blessed Hannah with additional children: “And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 2:21). Keep in mind, though, that Hannah had no knowledge that this would happen when she dedicated Samuel and gave him to Eli. To me, this is just another example of God going out of His way to bless us when we act in obedience to his Word and His calling.

Needless to say, we all came away with at least two things to remember from Hannah’s story. First, Hannah’s faith and her fervent prayer was not lost on God. He heard her prayers and He answered them. Second, when she followed through and gave to God what she said she would, He blessed her again by replacing what she gave up, with more sons and daughters.

This is probably a topic for a whole other post, but it reminds me of something a Pastor friend often shares with me… We either have a poverty mindset or a prosperity mindset. We either hang on tightly to things because we feel it might be all we ever get, or, with open hands, we hold things loosely because what God provided once, He can provide again. And again. And again…

Let us all be in the habit of holding things loosely while trusting God – who is THE provider of ALL things – to replace, renew, restore and refresh.

Grace and Peace be with you.