The story of Hannah and her husband Elkanah, told in 1 Samuel, Chapter 1, is gut-wrenching and real. Hannah was barren and it broke her heart. Other things complicated this, robbing her of joy.
But there is one verse that changed everything.
BE HONEST
Hannah's grief was real and palpable. God doesn't want us to "fake it," vainly acting like we're not troubled. He knows what’s going on in us. Our hurts, fears, disappointments and questions. He wants us to be honest with Him.
Hannah was hurting, but the difference-maker was that she took her hurt to the right Source.
BE PRAYING
Hannah looked up. Her response was not merely inward in grief or self-pity, or horizontal to try to look to others or figure her problem out herself. Hannah's response was vertical and her prayer brought God into the equation.
God heard her prayer (as He always does) and, in this situation, provided her with a son. And not just any son. His name became Samuel and he proved to be one of the most powerful, godly leaders in Israel's history.
Has your distress lingered and you are finding no relief? If you are in trouble, have you done the one thing that makes all the difference? Have you really, continually "prayed to the Lord?"
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It is said of Martin Luther that he dreamed he was transported to heaven and there noticed thousands of boxes with his name on them. When he asked the angel what they were, the angel replied, “These are answers to prayers that have never been asked.”
God has much more for us. He reminds us that “we have not because we ask not” (James 4:2).
