My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord. My mouth boasts over my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation. There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You! And there is no rock like our God. Do not boast so proudly or let arrogant words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and actions are weighed by Him. The bows of the warriors are broken, but the feeble are clothed with strength. Those who are full hire themselves out for food, but those who are starving hunger no more. The woman who is childless gives birth to seven, but the woman with many sons pines away. The Lord brings death and gives life; He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up. The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. He seats them with nobelmen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; He has set the world on them. He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness, for a man does not prevail by his own strength. Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered; He will thunder in the heavens against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give power to His king; He will lift up the horn of His anointed. 1 Samuel 2:1-10
My words…
Praise
Lord, I praise You for Hannah. She seems to know You so well, and her words cause me to nod my head and say, “Pray on, sister!” For this is a prayer of one who suffered in her body and in her soul. She was barren – childless for years. And in a culture that valued a woman according to her ability to bear children, Hannah felt worthless. After a time, she must have felt forgotten by You. And although her husband loved her unconditionally, she was scorned and ridiculed by her rival wife, Peninnah, who gave birth and rubbed Hannah’s nose in it. Hannah endured the taunts, layers of barbed taunts that cut her heart. She could not stop crying; instead, she stopped eating. I know what You planned for Hannah, Lord. I read the story. You heard each one of Hannah’s spoken and unspoken anguished pleas. But how much more powerful was Your bountiful answer (in Your time) after years of maternal drought? She knew who had blessed her womb, and she wanted the world to know, also. Her prayer, preserved over centuries, is one loud shout of praise to the One who changed her whole world. I imagine her raising her hands to You, laughing and crying at the same time as her timeless prayer reached Your ears. She became a mother to a son. And not just any son. Samuel grew to be a great judge of Your people, Israel. (I wonder what Peninnah thought about that?) Like Hannah, I praise You for being the God who listens to the feeble, the starving, and the childless.
Prayer for me
How many times, Lord, have I drug my heavy heart before Your throne, asking You to lighten it? How many times have I come to You when everything is falling apart, asking You to fit the pieces together again? You know the number. Now compare that to the number of times I have raised my heart and hands to You in overwhelming joy when I have been blessed by You. You know that paltry number as well. Hannah dragged her heavy heart before You for years, pleading for Your favor. And when she received it, she praised You in a way worthy of Your blessing. I desire to emulate Hannah. My prayers do not compare to her triumphant gift of praise and adoration to You. But I am just as blessed. Teach me, Lord, to praise you better. Help me, Lord, to praise you often.
Forgive Me
Forgive me for neglecting to give You the glory for the innumerable blessings You wrap around me like a blanket. Especially forgive me when I insult You by believing I made the blanket.
Prayer for others
Today I pray for those who have waited so long for an answer to prayer and are beginning to lose hope. Their faith is teetering. They believe You have turned Your ear from them. I don’t know how to encourage them. “Don’t lose faith,” I plead, but yet they do. Hannah’s womb was barren of life for decades, yet her faith grew. I pray that those who remain in prayer will remember Hannah’s prolonged plight and her victory through You.
Thanksgiving
Lord, I know a modern-day Hannah. She has prayed to You for a child for thirteen years. And now, You have blessed her with a little one growing in her womb. Some may credit the medical treatments. Some may say it was chance. But we give glory to whom glory is due. Thank you, Lord, for this precious answer to prayer. Our hearts rejoice in the Lord!
More praise
Lord, look at my heart. My praise for You lives there. Most times I cannot form the sentences worthy enough to Praise You. This is one of those times. Hannah said it so much better that I ever could: There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You! And there is no rock like our God.
