Mom's Prayer

Introduction

Good morning church family. Today is mother’s day. It’s the day we celebrate moms, grandma’s, and of course that special lady in our life. It can also be a time remembering that special lady in our life. It could be mom, momma, mother. It could be a lady we hold dearly in our heart, that was there for us.

I don’t know if you remember the sermon from last mother’s day. That’s ok if your answer was no — I had to look it also. Well we opened with some cute sayings about mom from their children. This year let’s open with things mom’s have said.

There was one mom who defined ‘mother’. She is a person who does the work of twenty — for free. Now I don’t know how some of you ladies do it. But! This is true. Some of you ladies can multi-task like no other.

Another mom said: since I’ve heard four first scream and saw your wonderful eyes, my heart has been stolen.

Another said: you’re my treasure in life. I’ve done many wrong things in life, but one thing which I’ve made right is that I gave birth to you.

The last one I read. I don’t know how you feel. Was there ever a time in your life when you seemed to have it ALL figured out, and the last thing you wanted to listen to was mom cackling in your ear? The older I get, the more I understand. The quote said: dear mom — I get it now.

This morning we’re going to talk about a prayer of one of the moms we can find in the Bible. We’re going to come in right before the birth of a baby boy. Our passage comes from a section about a mother who prayer. If you have your Bibles with you this morning, or opening your app, I’d like to invite you to open with me to the book of 1st Samuel. The title of our message this morning is Mom’s prayer. Lets begin reading in Chapter 1 beginning in verse number 8. If you would like to use one of our pew Bibles, our passage can be found on page — 419 in the first column.

1 Samuel 1:8–9 ESV

8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” 9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:10–11 ESV

10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

Pastoral Prayer

[Display Verse 8]

When reading over some of the stories in the Bible, particularity some in the Old Testament, have you ever come across pieces of Scripture where you can see the humanity of a person. You can see that person is just as human as you and I. We have that here with Hannah’s husband. Some share the thought that Hannah’s husband is being thoughtful and caring, in that he’s asking questions in an attempt to help her. The question Hannah’s husband asks is a four-fold question packaged with three “why’s.” Some might read into that Hannah’s husband is being a typical guy, and perhaps he is, in the sense of his box of “fix-it” is open.

In the background, there is stress of being childless going on. Now in this culture, and others around the world today, value large families. Hannah could be feeling the pressure. All the love her husband might not stack up if he cannot give her children. Today, much of our culture, might not give this a second look.

[Display Verse 9]

When we come to verse 9, we come to a turning point in Hannah’s life. This is where we begin to unpack Hannah’s prayer and vow. This significance here is Hannah’s resolve to do something about it. That resolve comes here in the middle of verse 9. The ESV translates it as “Hannah rose.” It can also be translated as “Hannah stood up,” or “Hannah got up.” This is not a simple gesture like standing up after a meal and heading into the living room. The Hebrew word here focuses on action. Something had to change. And, there was no better time than the present. This meant going to “the temple of the Lord.” We’ve talked several times about ordinary people in the Bible going before the Lord in prayer — this is another example.

[Display Verses 10 & 11]

In verse 10 we learn, “she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.” From this we gain some insight to her circumstances and possible feelings disappointment and dissatisfaction. In the middle of verse 10, there’s an important feature to notice. Hannah’s going through what could be pressure from society, possibly friends, and it could be be mounting. We don’t have more information to help in-fill the gaps. She has strong feeling. Through it all, now here’s the important feature — she “prayed to the Lord.”

Hannah is a woman of prayer. She’s bringing what’s on her heart to Lord. She’s talking to him. She’s laying it to him. Although she’s spreading it out, like butter on bread, Hannah’s prayer is more than a “Polly-wants-a-cracker” type-of request.

If you have your Bible open, let travel down a couple verses. I’d like you to notice another feature of Hannah’s prayer. I’ll be reading from the King James.

1 Samuel 1:12–13 KJV 1900

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.

If you recall back in verse 9, the Bible tells us “they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh.” It could be reasonable that “Eli thought she had been drinking.” Perhaps you’ve been there when you were talking with the Lord, where no sound comes out. But! You’re in fact speaking directly from the heart.

From what it could have appeared on the surface, that Hannah could have had too much wine or something else. This simply was not the case. Follow along with me just a little further:

1 Samuel 1:15–16 NLT

15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

She wasn’t drinking. She’s pouring out her heart to the Lord. Hannah has immersed her whole person in prayer “to the Lord.” Do you remember when our Lord did something similar? Over in Luke 22:44 (not in slideshow), the Bible tells us

Luke 22:44 ESV

44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

In the case of our Lord and Hannah, did you take note to whom they are praying? They’re praying to God.

Has there ever been a time when you’ve come before the Lord with something, and felt better after talking with the Lord? Sometimes after talking with the Lord can feel like that hot shower that just feels GREAT! You know the feeling of just standing there as the water just flows down. It can feel like everything you’ve been caring is just being pealed off — what a relief. Talking to the Lord can feel similar. We won’t talk about it this morning, down in verse 18 a weight has been lifted. Hannah “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

This is an important feature. It mirrors what Paul says in Philippians 4:4 (rejoice in the Lord always). Let me explain. We know Hannah was feeling distressed. In the light of that her face was no longer sad, Hannah’s joy was no longer a function of her dependence on obtaining a son. Her joy shifted and now is found in God.

When we turn to the Lord for something we’re seeking, and in Hannah’s case it could have easily been:

Hannah prays, Hannah is with child, Hannah is joyful, and the storms of her life dissipate.

The order that took place was:

Hannah prays, Hannah is joyful, Hannah is with child.

Tuning back to verse 11:

[Display Verses 10 & 11]

We’ve talked much about prayer. Notice what happens here in verse 11 (we have a package coming along with this mom to-be). Hannah makes a vow. She prayed with a pledge. She’s talking with the “Lord of hosts.” She’s talking to the One who has all power, headship over all creation. The Lord of hosts gives serenity. This can include peace, calmness, composure and contentment. It means we have security. And, here it can mean, we can turn to the Lord when we’re feeling oppressed.

Hannah is asking the Lord “to look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son.” In addition to giving it straight up, she’s specific in her prayer.

We have an echo in similar language of God’s dealings with the Israelites. The historic act where God redeemed His people from bondage in Egypt. We hear in (not in slideshow):

Exodus 3:7 ESV

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

and then again in (not in slideshow):

Deuteronomy 26:7 ESV

7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

Hannah was asking God to do what God had shown to be his characteristic behavior toward his people.

There is a note of caution here. You might be recalling verses like (not in slideshow):

Matthew 7:7 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

This is encouragement to pray. Warren Wiersbe said once,

“if we are to have spiritual discernment, we must keep on asking God, keep on seeking His will, keep on knocking at the door that leads to greater ministry. God meets the needs of His children.”

I can’t say if you keep seeking and knocking for a million dollars that it will happen.

Application

Hannah’s prayer is rooted in faith. There was no way for her to tell that eventually she’d be blessed with a son. We heard of Hannah rejoicing after going to the Lord.

Faith points to rejoicing in God when our dreams are still unfulfilled, and resting on God when life is falling apart around us.

It’s can be easy to focus on all the broken branches on the ground, that could seem like they’re everywhere. But! What about faith and focus on the rest of the tree that is still standing, and all the branches still connected.

Faith-filled Hannah found a source of joy and security greater than that of her request for a son. That is God Himself!

I’m grateful the Lord understands a woman’s heart. Many of you ladies in this room, pour yourself out fully, where you dedicate and sacrifice so much for those in your life. Today is Mother’s day. Being a mom, momma, grandma, nanna, mother it doesn’t have to be blood family. Today we celebrate you. We’re grateful and thankful for all that you do, for how you love us to no end, even when family might be crazy, even when all you see are broken branches, when you’re scared, when you’re uncertain, when your happy — you give.

Like Hannah, we know you have silent prayers. We thank you for lifting us up in prayer, ahead of your requests.

Thank you for showing Jesus to us, even when it’s hard. Jesus Christ did that. Jesus showed us an incredible side when things were very difficult. Jesus poured Himself out in sacrifice for us. He did that for our benefit.

And, ladies, I see you doing that in many ways.

If you have a special lady with you here today, I want to encourage you to let her know how special she is to you. Perhaps you’re feeling lead to come up here as a family, a couple, or even a group to pray for her, this is your time to come.

If you need prayer on something else, I invite you to come on up. Let me know how I can be prayer for you.

Closing Prayer