Lord, I Trust You To Give Me The Desire Of My Heart – Hannah’s Story
Few women in the Bible have a heart and faith as beautiful and pure as Hannah’s. Hannah wasn’t afraid to pour out her heart to God. She also had faith that he would give her what she asked for. But
Hannah’s faith went even further. She loved God so much that she was willing to give back to him the very thing she longed for.. a child.
Hannah’s story
Hannah was married to Elkanah, but unlike his other wife, Peninnah, Hannah was unable to give Elkanah any children.
Peninnah took great delight in Hannah’s misery, but Elkanah did not. He treated her with love and tenderness. Hannah most assuredly took some comfort from her husband’s kindness, but her longing for a child was indescribable….
There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of
Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.
Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.
One year, as they were making their annual sacrifices at Shiloh, Hannah could take the pain no longer. She poured her heart out to the LORD; her prayers being little more than moaning and groaning.
Eli, the high priest, noticed Hannah, heard her, and proceeded to reprimand her for being drunk. She quickly assured him that she wasn’t drunk.
She explained that she was desperately pouring her heart out to the LORD. Eli didn’t ask for any particulars or details. He simply told her that God had heard her and would give her what she had asked for.
Sure enough, shortly after returning home, Hannah and Elkanah discovered that they would finally become parents. Hannah was elated and thankful.
She was so thankful, in fact, that she told God she would give the child back to him once he was weaned and able to communicate (most likely 3 to 5 years old).
When the baby boy was born she named him Samuel and devoted herself to being the best mom and wife she could possibly be.
But true to her word, when the time came, she took Samuel to Eli at Shiloh, reminded him of their encounter, told him of the promise she had made, and left her son to live with Eli.
She went to see him often; never letting him doubt her love. And when God blessed Hannah and Elkanah with other children after that, it is safe to say she made sure they knew their big brother.
What We Can Learn From Hannah
Hannah was an outstanding woman of God. Don’t you agree? Not only did she trust God to answer her prayer, but she expressed her thanks in a most sacrificial manner.
What do you take from Hannah’s story? Hopefully, you learn…
Lesson One:
God does answer our prayers. Always. Sometimes he says yes, sometimes, no, and sometimes, he says wait until the time is right.
Lesson Two:
Everything we have is Gods-he is merely sharing with us. All too often we lose sight of this truth.
We take credit for our abilities and talents. We falsely believe our successes are due to our efforts and ours alone. We give ‘luck’ and ‘fate’ credit for many of the blessings God graciously gives.
Instead of having an ‘all about me’ attitude, you would do well to give credit where credit is due and share back with God in all things and in all ways.
This doesn’t mean you have to drop your kids off at the preacher’s house and say “They’re yours now.”
But it does mean you need to offer your children up to God; praying his will for their lives and that you can be an instrument in making that happen.
Lesson Three:
The greater your faith the greater (and more obvious) God’s blessings will be. God loves us unconditionally no matter who we are or what we do. It is impossible for him NOT to love us. His blessings, however, are conditional on how close we are to him.
Think about it like this: you love your children every single day of their lives. Your love doesn’t hinge on whether they go to bed on time or how little they sass you. These things don’t measure your love for them, but they do affect
your relationship and your ability to extend measures of goodwill (blessings).
For example, if they are obedient and well-behaved and don’t turn your house into a war zone at bedtime, you are more willing and able to see the value in reading that extra bedtime story, saying yes when they ask to have a friend over to play.
It is important to say, at this point, that even tremendous faith doesn’t guarantee you’ll get everything you ask for, but when your faith is such, you know that you will always get what you need and what God knows is best for you. And you’ll be completely satisfied with whatever that is.
Lesson Four:
Samuel was Elkanah’s son, too. He had to have faith like his wife’s in order to allow her to give Samuel to God and to Eli.
The point to be made is that your spiritual life will thrive best when you have a spouse who not only holds you accountable, but who also shares your desire to be ever-growing closer to the LORD.
To Sum It All Up
Hannah didn’t have any ulterior motives or an attitude of tit for tat when she gave Samuel to God. She just wanted to thank God for her son the best and biggest way she knew how. We should strive to do the same.