1 Samuel 2:1-2, “And Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.’”
1 Samuel 1-3 records the birth and call to ministry of the great man of God, Samuel. Samuel’s mother, Hannah, was barren for many years. Chapter 1, v. 10 says, “She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.” Hannah was greatly burdened by her barrenness, but her burden spurred her on to prayer. The Lord heard her prayer, and as it says in 1:20, “And in due time, Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’” How did Hannah respond to this blessing from the Lord? With prayer!! It is noteworthy that both in troubled times and in joyful times, we read that Hannah prayed to the Lord. Whether in the valley of sorrow or on the mountain of joy, we are to go to the Lord!
Hannah’s prayer is recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. I would encourage you to take a few moments and read the prayer in its entirety; but what I want to note is how she begins her prayer: “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God” (vv. 1-2). We can only imagine the depth of sorrow that Hannah had carried for many years as the Lord had closed her womb. Added to the natural desire for children would be the social stigma that barrenness entailed in the Ancient Near East. But the Lord in his mercy opened the womb of Hannah; and Hannah prayed to God. Did she begin how most of us would begin: by giving thanks? No. She began with praise and adoration. She begins her prayer by exalting in and praising the giver of life, the Lord God Almighty. While it would not have been wrong for Hannah to have begun her prayer with thanksgiving, I would contend that her prayer is a good model for us all: to begin our prayers in praise to God – to begin by confessing his sovereignty and glory, and our weakness and frailty. We see this patter in many of the great prayers of the Old Testament. For example, the people begin their prayer in Nehemiah 9 with these words: “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host …” (v. 6). When we begin with God on his throne, all else naturally falls into place. When we begin with God on his throne, we are reminded that we are absolutely dependent on him each moment of our lives. As we live in greater dependence on God, so we live in closer fellowship and communion with God.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ps 115:1).
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