Hannah Prays to God

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from 1 Samuel 1:1-14. In this Scripture, we learn about a lady by the name of Hannah. She was one of the wives of Elkanah.  His other wife was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but God hadn’t blessed Hannah with children.

Each year Elkanah and his wives went to the city of Shiloh to worship and bring sacrifices to the LORD. When Elkanah offered his sacrifices he gave Peninnah and all her children portions, but Hannah only got a small portion, because she didn’t have any children. How do you think this made Hannah feel?

There was some tension between Peninnah and Hannah because of the fact that one had children and the other one didn’t. No doubt Peninnah bragged and made Hannah feel sad about the situation, so much so she caused Hannah to cry and not eat.

Elkanah asked Hannah why she was crying, why she wouldn’t eat and why was she so sad? He asked her, “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” Hannah loved her husband, but she also wanted to give him children.

After they finished dinner Hannah went to the temple and poured her heart out to God, crying and praying to God asking Him to give her a son. She promised God if He would give her a son she would dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor would ever come on his head.

First John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Hannah loved God and she trusted Him with her concerns.

Hannah was praying in her heart. She didn’t speak out loud – only her mouth was moving. Eli the priest was nearby, saw Hannah and thought she was drunk. He asked her how long she was going to be drunk and told her to put away the wine.

I can empathize with Hannah. I was married to my husband for eight years before we had our first child. I loved my husband, but I also wanted to have children as Hannah did. I remember being distraught, crying, praying to God and begging Him to give us children.

I would see other people who had children and not understand why God blessed them and hadn’t given us children. It was a very trying time in my life and I am sure it was for my husband as well. There were many days I was so sad because of it I would cry. I had two miscarriages, then, finally, we had our first daughter. God ended up blessing us with two beautiful daughters and now He has blessed us with five precious grandchildren.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

1 Samuel 1:1-14

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

 

Things to think about:

• Describe how you think Hannah felt.

• Have you ever wanted something as much as Hannah wanted a child? If so, describe how you felt.

• In what ways did you turn your concerns over to the LORD?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this story of Hannah. It reminds us no matter what our burden is we can bring it to You. Hannah was desperate to have children and she had no one to turn to but You. She knew You loved her, cared for her and she could trust You with her concerns. Help us to remember You are always there for us, You love us and care about what we are going through in our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. We love You, LORD. Amen.

– This is an excerpt from our new release The Book of 1 Samuel: Prophets, Priests, and Kings

 

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Featured Book:

The Book of 1 Samuel: Prophets, Priests, and Kings

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the Book:

The Book of 1 Samuel: Prophets, Priests, and Kings by Deborah H. Bateman is a Daily Bible Reading Study of the book of 1 Samuel. This is the 31st book in the Daily Bible Reading Series. The book of 1 Samuel is found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

The Book of 1 Samuel not only discusses the life and call of Samuel as a prophet but also includes events that happened during his lifetime. The people of Israel insisted on having a king and even though Samuel tried to warn them of the dangers of appointing a king, they insisted. So God chose Saul to be their king. A good portion of the book includes the events during the reign of King Saul including the ongoing rivalry between King Saul and David.

The Book of 1 Samuel: Prophets, Priests, and Kings contains 71 Daily Bible Reading Lessons. Each lesson consists of a commentary by the author, the Daily Bible Reading Scripture, a few questions for contemplation or discussion, and a prayer to go along with the lesson. This Bible study is great as a personal daily devotional or a group Bible study.

For those of you interested in Bible journaling, pick your favorite Bible verse from each lesson and journal about it. This will be a great reminder of the lessons you learn as you read and study this book.

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