GOD, HEARS YOU

Have you ever been in a place where nothing seems to be going right? It just seems like the world and everyone around you have gone crazy.

You pray and pray and pray again but nothing seems to be happening and all of a sudden, the thought enters your mind, God, do you hear me talking to you?

Oh, that sounds kind of disrespectful when you consider who you’re talking to, but right now, that’s the frame of mind you’re in.

You’re in distress, depressed and desperate, you need help, and you need it now because if just one more thing happens; if just one more person says something to you, you will explode.

♪♪ Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the edge, I’m tryin’ not to lose my head, huh huh, huh huh, huh huh. It’s like a jungle sometimes, make me wonder how I keep from going under. ♪♪

I would venture to say that there are times we all find ourselves on the edge, sure that just one more thing will push us over a cliff, and we don’t know how we’d ever make it back. A time when we felt like we were sinking and about to drown.

Maybe you’ve been in a relationship where you gave and gave and they took and took. Or you swallowed so much hurt and disappointment and disrespect you felt like you were choking.

It was so much you couldn’t even cry out to God, you wanted to scream, but you opened your mouth and nothing came out and you wondered, if I don’t have any words, if I don’t even know what to say, will God still hear my cry, will He understand my groan, will He still hear my prayer if I can’t speak the words out loud?

I’m here to tell you this morning, I’m here to assure you, God hears your prayers, even the silent ones. Not only does he hear them, but He will also answer.

Because what you need to know and never doubt is this, no matter how deep you’ve fallen, no matter how down you are emotionally, when nothing else can help God’s love can and will lift you out of whatever you’re in.

Preacher how can you be so sure? Because if He did it before, He’ll do it again. Turn with me in your Bibles to

1 Sam 1:9-18 NLT - 9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.” 12 As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” 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.” 17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

The title of today’s message is, “God Hears You”.

In the Old Testament when a woman couldn’t get pregnant, she was considered to be cursed by God, she was sometimes ostracized by other women and sometimes, even discarded by her husband.

There was no such thing as IVF back then, she just had to deal with her feelings and the situation the best she could. The men would marry other women to get children or like Abraham sleep with their wives’ handmaid or servant to get an heir.

More than one wife was not in God’s design. When He originally designed marriage, it was between one man and one woman and that has never changed. God, knowing all things, knew for a man to have more than one wife was a recipe for trouble.

But the story doesn’t start here.

Elkanah was Hannah’s husband; and because she was unable to bear children, as was their custom back then, he had another wife named Peninnah. Peninnah had children and she would torment Hannah about the fact that she didn’t.

Every year the family made the trip to the temple of the Lord to present their sacrifice to God and the whole way, every year, Peninnah would taunt and tease Hannah about not being able to have children. She did this as she gathered her own around her. She taunted Hannah to the point where Hannah ended up in tears and wouldn’t even eat. Peninnah— was a bully.

Elkanah loved Hannah and would try to comfort her but when there is something your heart desires and you don’t have it and can’t get it, how many know there is no amount of comfort that is going to make it better? Conversely, Peninnah may have been so vengeful toward Hannah because Hannah was the first wife and more loved by Elkanah. So, she reacted out of a place of hurt and jealousy. Because even though she was blessed with children, she was still second in Elkanah’s heart and that hurt. But be sure, while sometimes hurt may be the reason, bullying is never the answer.

Instead of striking back at Peninnah, instead of striking Peninnah, Hannah went to the One who could make her feel better, the one who could comfort her and the One who could change her situation. She knew and trusted the God of Israel and so she called on him to end her suffering.

Elkanah was a man stuck in the middle of two very different women. Peninnah was abundantly blessed with children, but because she did not have first place in her husband’s heart, she was haughty, disrespectful, and arrogant. Hannah on the other hand, while she had the love of her husband, her barrenness made her melancholy or sad and discontent. Elkanah had to be a referee at times and navigate this mine field of his own making.

It was their custom to make a yearly trip to Shiloh to present their sacrifice to God to atone for their sins. Elkanah, being the good leader and faithful man he was, took his whole family on this trip. Perhaps he thought, if we go to worship together as a family, that will help fix the problem. Elkanah was trying, he couldn’t fix what was going on in his family, but he was at least trying. If the devotions of the family couldn’t put an end to the division in the family, he wasn’t going to allow the division in the family to put an end to the devotion.

Did you catch that, saints? Don’t allow the disagreements, the protests, the fights, the arguments, whatever is causing division in your family… don’t allow those divisions to stop you from your devotions with God. Said another way, keep coming to church, with the whole family, even if they protest. Those who you have responsibility for; don’t allow their dissension, to stop you from coming to devotion together.

Yes, we have a benefit they didn’t have in the Old Testament, God is with us wherever we are in the person of the Holy Spirit, but

• sometimes you need the support of other Christians

• sometimes you need to be in the room with those you know can help you get a prayer through

• sometimes you just need a break from the battle so you can be renewed and refreshed to continue the fight

• Saints, sometimes we all need just a little bit of help, a little bit of encouragement

…that’s one of the reasons it’s so important we gather together

So, Shiloh was the place of worship. It’s where they came to make their sacrifices, to pray in the Tabernacle and worship God. After the sacrifice and worship, they would have a meal together.

We are all familiar with cuts of meat, there are premium cuts, choice cuts, good cuts and cuts that will do. To demonstrate his love for Hannah, despite her inability to have children, Elkanah would give her the choicest portion of the peace offering. It was an example of how God loves us, despite our sin, God still loves us and gave his best to save us.

After a sacrificial meal, one which Hannah did not eat, she got up and went to pray. Sometimes you just need to excuse yourself and go to a place where it’s just you and God. A place where you can talk to Him, where you can cry out to Him, where you can just lay prostrate before Him and tell him what’s on your heart. Hannah was in that mental space, she just needed to be alone with God.

So she went to the Tabernacle to meet God there and petition him for a baby. Eli was the priest on duty this particular day. He was in his usual place next to the entrance of the Tabernacle, so Hannah had to go by him to go in to pray.

As she went, the Scripture says she was in deep anguish, crying bitterly. Deep anguish, church she was in agony, heartbroken over the fact that she had no children, made worse for sure by the fact and torment of this women who made herself her rival and taunted her mercilessly. Peninnah rubbed it in her face and Hannah cried bitterly. Y’all she had that ugly cry, the one where you don’t care who’s looking you are overwhelmed by your pain, your sorrow, your grief and you are just done with trying to keep it together.

This is where Hannah was, she probably didn’t even notice Eli as she entered the Tabernacle, she was on a mission to get to the altar, nothing and no one was going to get in her way. She had to get to God, there was something she needed to say to Him, and it was this…“O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.” Hannah made a vow to God; she made a promise. She was tired, she was desperate, and she needed God to hear her.

Hannah was very specific in her prayer, she didn’t have time for flowery words, she wasn’t concerned about what anyone thought. This is the way we should be with our Father. He wants to bless us, all He’s waiting for, is to see how bad do you want it. See, sometimes, if something comes easy for you, you may not appreciate it as much you should. You may not take care of it as well as you should.

Peninnah was blessed to be able to have children, but instead of being thankful for that blessing, she was focused on what she felt was lacking, the love she wanted from her husband and so she failed to appreciate what she had. She failed to show compassion for Hannah in her grief, in fact she was a part of the grief.

Hannah prayed to the Lord of hosts, the true and living God. She got God’s attention, she wanted to make sure He knew she was talking to Him. Have you ever been in a group of people, and someone ask a question, but they didn’t direct it to anyone in particular? It may or may not have gotten answered or it could’ve generated another question, who are you talking to?

Hannah established who she was talking to, then she made sure God knew who she was talking about. This was not a prayer of intercession, she was not standing in the gap for someone else, she said, “…if only you will look on the misery of your servant”, she wasn’t just any old body coming to the altar, she was his servant and she wanted that fact acknowledged. Have you ever reminded God that you are His child? Remember, this woman is in deep anguish all pomp and circumstance is out the window, all that cute stuff is gone, this is serious, not for show.

She has identified who she’s praying to, and whoshe’s praying for, now let’s look at what she’s praying about.

“… remember me, and not forget your servant” When your prayer is not answered right away, when you’ve been waiting for something you prayed for, for a long time in your mind you begin to wonder if God has forgotten you, you begin to wonder if he hears you. I can tell you God has not forgotten about you, He hears you, just keep praying.

And now she drills down to what it is she truly wants to say, “…but will give to your servant a male child” Once again she says your servant, she already established she was his servant, but she reiterates so there is no confusion about who this child is coming to, not just a child, but a male child. To have a son was like a double blessing, because in this time and culture women could not, except in very specific cases, inherit. Inheritances went to the males. And male children carried on the family name.

But then Hannah says something that may seem strange, she says “…then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death.” She’s asking God for a son, and then promising to give him back, she is dedicating him to be a nazirite for his entire life.

Being a Nazarene was not necessarily a lifetime commitment, it was a vow to God to separate yourself for a period of time and during that time 1) They had to abstain from wine and strong drink, 2) their hair was not cut during the whole period of the continuance of the vow and 3) they had no contact with the dead (even family members).

At the end of their vow, to be released, they came to the door of the sanctuary with a he lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering, a ewe lamb of the first year for a sin-offering, and a ram for a peace-offer. After making the sacrifices, they cut off their hair at the door and threw it into the fire under the peace-offering.

Hannah vowed to dedicate her son for life if God answered her prayer.

As Hannah prayed this prayer, Eli was watching her. He was watching because while her lips were moving, but no sound came from her mouth. He couldn’t hear her prayer, so he made an assumption, he assumed she had been drinking. Not just drinking, but drunk. As if it wasn’t enough that Peninnah tormented her, she’s now being chastised by Eli, the person who was supposed to minister to her, yet he was chastising her. He says to her, “Must you come here drunk? Throw away your wine!”

Wow! He saw something, he asked no questions, he made an assumption and he reacted, harshly. This tells you, even the man or woman of God can get it wrong sometimes.

This was a recipe for church hurt if ever there was one.

• She was already in distress

• She was distraught over not having children

• She was being bullied by Peninnah, her husband’s other wife

• She came into the Tabernacle crying almost hysterically

• She is praying to God earnestly and

• she is accused, by the man of God, of being drunk, then told to throw away her wine.

She could’ve left the Tabernacle and went out and told everyone how mean Eli was to her, how he jumped to a conclusion that was far from the truth, she could’ve gone off on him and cussed him out. She could’ve blamed God for his insensitivity, gotten angry with God and refused to pray again. But she didn’t, she set the record straight right there on the spot.

Watch carefully. When someone treats you unfairly, when they make a false accusation about you, take a breath, and do what Hannah did, she immediately set the record straight. Verse 15 says, “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 didn’t hang on to it,

• She didn’t let if fester,

• She didn’t wallow in his erroneous assumption

• She didn’t allow his error to impede her blessing

Too many times we get so caught up in a wrong done to us, we can’t move past it to receive what we ask God for. Y’all she was in prayer and as far as I can tell she wasn’t finished, she hadn’t said amen, she hadn’t left the altar, she wasn’t on her way out the door. It says Eli watched her as she prayed, he saw her lips moving but he didn’t hear any sound, he had a thought, and he interrupted her prayer and made an accusation and a demand.

He couldn’t hear her prayer, but God could. God heard her cry and her prayer. Did you notice she didn’t tell Eli what she prayed for, just that she was praying out of great anguish and sorrow. Man doesn’t always need to hear your prayer, after all, it’s God who will answer, it’s God who will provide and if God wants to use a person to give you your answer, He can speak to them too. They’re called prophets.

And for those in Eli’s position, when corrected, don’t you take offense either, Eli backs off his assumption and says, “…In that case… go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

He didn’t ask what she was praying for, why she was there, or where her husband was, none of that was important; he simply came into agreement with her prayer and spoke a blessing to her.

Can we just bless someone when they check us? Can we come into agreement with them when they tell us we’re wrong? Can we be happy for someone when they’re blessed and we’re still waiting? You have to answer that for yourself.

Then she exclaims, “Oh, thank you, sir!”, now she goes back and has dinner with her husband. Not only that, she was no longer sad.

Now, had anything changed in her situation from the time she left to go the Tabernacle to the time she returned? No. She wasn’t pregnant, Peninnah still had children and was undoubtedly still antagonizing her. Her husband still loved her and was probably thinking what he could do to cheer her up when she came back. But when she returned, she returned with hope, she returned with expectation, she returned knowing God had heard her silent prayer. Dare I say she returned with the joy of the Lord?

• Can you pray and even when nothing has changed in your situation, believe and praise God for your miracle?

• Can you rejoice before the manifestation?

• Can you shout before the battle is over?

• Can you esteem God before you get your answer?

• Can you give God glory even when your yes is still a no?

• Is God good only when He gives to you?

• Does your problem dictate God’s praise?

• Are your actions based on God’s movements?

What if Jesus waited until you got yourself together to give his life for your salvation?

For those of you saying let me get myself together, then I’ll come. You’ll never get here. Come now, God wants you just the way you are, but He loves you way too much to leave you there. Come now and let Jesus fix it for you, let Him make you into the person God designed you to be.

Jesus left heaven to be born of a woman, he put his immortality into a mortal body just to show us how to walk blameless on this earth.

• He came to show us how to live a life of holiness.

• He came to demonstrate obedience to God the Father.

• He came to teach us how to pray.

• He came to provide salvation for our souls.

• He came to take the stripes for our healing.

• He came to give us an abundant life.

• He came to free us from sin and its penalty.

• He came to set us free and we are now free indeed.

• He came to pay a debt we can never repay. No amount of service, no number of good deeds, and no measure of money can ever make up for what Jesus did for us on an old rugged cross more than 2000 years ago

All God wants, is all of you, with your mixed up, messed up, imperfect, finite, fallible self. He still loves you; He still wants to bless you and all you have to do is pray a prayer something like this

“God, I confess I am a sinner, please forgive me, I believe Jesus is your Son, that he was born of a virgin and died to pay for my sins. Jesus, you gave your life for me, now I give my life to You, in Your name I pray, amen.

We pray in Jesus’ name because He said in John 14:13-14 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

You want your prayer answered? Whatever you ask, ask it in Jesus’ name.

The rest of the story is this, God did bless Hannah with a son, and she kept her vow and gave him back to God. You know her promised son as the Prophet Samuel. But that wasn’t her only child, God opened Hannah’s womb, she had seven children and Peninnah didn’t have another child.

The doors of the church are open. There are three invitations we have for you today.

The first is to those who have never prayed a prayer of salvation. If you’ve never prayed and asked Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord of your life, today is a good day to make that decision. You’re never too young or too old to make this decision. As long as you have breath, you have opportunity.

The second invitation is for those who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but they’re not part of a body of Christ where they can work out their soul salvation. If you’ve made Jesus Lord of your life but you don’t have a church home, maybe you’ve moved to this area and you just never found a local church, perhaps you received salvation online during the pandemic and now that we’re back to in person worship, you’d like to join with a body of believers, this call is to you.

The final call is for those who received salvation, but for whatever reason strayed away, maybe someone in the church made an assumption about you and hurt you, can you forgive them, recommit to Christ and come back to the house of God? The reason you left is not important, what’s important is that you return. Come on home and allow that hurt to be healed.

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