God Remembered a Mother's Prayer
"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."
(1 Samuel 1: 26-28)
The precious life that we live today is the marvellous result of God's everlasting plan that was nurtured in our mothers' dreams and wishes as she carried us in her womb. Just as the Psalmist says in Psalm 139: 13, 14, God created our inmost being. He knit us together in our mother's womb. We were fearfully and wonderfully made as one of God's wonderful works. And, for each of us, to make us so unique and special, God chose our mothers as the precious bearers of his miraculous craftsmanship.
God's wonderful hands and the presence of the Holy Spirit was there in the middle as we kept growing and gaining shape in that unknown darkness of our mother's womb. And today, each of us reading these lines is the result of that divine craftsmanship of God in our mother's room of life. They had shared the pains and dreams, the passions and inmost yearnings about us together. And that's why when our mothers pray for us God listens to each of those words carefully. Because God and our mother started their journey of our lives long before we even existed.
Today I am reminded of a mother of faith mentioned in the Bible. I am having in my thoughts the beautiful way in which God remembered her silent and whispering prayer. And, I indeed call her 'a mother' because that's what her faith teaches us. I encourage you to spend some time in reading and marvelling at the miraculous incidents in the life of this young mother called Hannah in 1 Samuel, Chapter 01.
Elkanah, a man from the hill country of Ephraim had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah. The Lord had closed Hannah's womb and she had to undergo a lot of insults, provocation and rejection, especially from her rival Peninnah. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
Once when they had been to Shiloh for the yearly sacrifice, and after they had finished eating and drinking, Hannah stood up, and in her deep anguish 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.” Even the priest Eli observed her and thought she was mumbling something in God's presence doubting she was drunk. But Hannah explained to Eli that she was only praying in that way because of her anguish and grief. Then Eli said to her “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” Hannah replied with faith and hope, saying “May your servant find favour in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. They returned home. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
So in the course of time, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” Later, after she had weaned the child, and just as she had promised in the presence of God, they brought the boy to Eli. Hannah said to the priest “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 the child worshipped the Lord there. This child, later grew up to be the most influential prophet of Israel and led the nation.
I would like to look at two wonderful things that I find in the amazing faith of this mother - Hannah.
Hannah was faithful to God and continued to believe in His mighty and miraculous power.
Hannah believed that she was without a child, not because she was barren but because God had closed her womb. The explanation is not only for the Bible's narrative, but it is to express what Hannah felt. Just like the scripture explains the condition, Hannah also believed that God can open her womb and can bless her with a child. She very strongly believed that God is able to do this in her life. It is Hannah's this unshakable, unfading and immovable faith that made her pour out her anguish and grief in front of the Lord. It is this faith that she had which was followed by the relief she felt after praying in the presence of God that made her feel peaceful.
The scripture says, after that prayer, she went away and ate something. Yes, her faith made her live a normal life without doubts and fear. Her face was also no longer downcast. This is the challenge Hannah's life of faith gives us today. The expression of her faith was not only in her prayer, not just in her words, not alone in her tears, but it was also extraordinarily shown and reflected in her life. Her lifestyle changed after she gave everything into God's mighty hands. Her lifestyle is an example of a life of faith and hope.
Hannah's faith was reflected in her detailed commitments of the future.
It is such an inspirational faith to see that Hannah not only asks God for the blessing of a child but she also made a vow in the presence of the Lord in faith. Even though her vow had a very important 'IF' in it, she was ready to even sacrifice the one and only child that may be born. It is beautiful to see later in the scriptures that Hannah was, indeed, blessed with children even after Samuel. But the details mattered here. Hannah, in faith, made the vow with some interesting details. First of all, she said she will dedicate the child for the service of the Lord.
And second, she goes further and says no razor will ever be used on his head. Imagine if any of us were praying for such a blessing, maybe, our prayers would have stopped with the essentials. "Lord give me this, and I will do this." And that's it. Our faith is still circulating around that 'IF.' But we find in Hannah, that she goes further in detail. And this detail is out of her faith. She had her visions of her child. She knew in faith what to do with the child. She had already imagined in faith how the child would be and how he will be maintained and taken care of for the special service of God. Our expressions of faith must be decorated with visions for the future! And that is the real faith God expects from us.
Called to be a Hannah
Today, God is calling you and me to be a Hannah in this world. God is calling us to be faithful to Him and to continue to believe in His mighty and miraculous power. He is also inviting us to have a lifestyle that reflects this strong faith that we have in Him. Let our faith not just be in our words, songs, prayers and the gospel that we share, but let it also change our lifestyle. Let others see the faith and confidence that we have in our Lord through the visions that we carry for our future. And let these visions and plans be drawn while we are in the presence of the Lord.
God remembered this mother's prayer and answered it in the most beautiful and wonderful way. He continued to bless Hannah and made her a blessing to the entire nation of Israel as her son Samuel stood in front of the Lord as the nation's prophet. I pray that we will depend on the mighty power and everlasting plans of our Father in heaven, be reminded of the grace and love that we receive through His Son Jesus Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit who will help us to believe, continue to trust, grow in faith and to live a lifestyle of faith in this world.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
