Powerful Prayers - WK 2 - Hannah

A little context for Hannah.

1 Samuel 1:4–7 NIV

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. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

Hannah is in a really rough spot

She is so upset about this that she is weeping and refusing to eat.

Hannah has support around here - she has a loving husband. But she also has trials, and those trials are like daggers right into her heart.

It’s not easy to recognize the good things

when the bad things are so sharp and personal.

QUESTION - have you ever felt that way? That, as good as things may objectively be - you’re still struggling?

1 Samuel 1:10–17 NIV

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

I love the image here - that she’s so beside herself, so fallen apart, that Eli walks over and his first instict ‘she is DRUNK’. That’s very much…not the picture we have of amazing prayers.

She has this singular request of God - I want a son.

When she’s praying, she’s praying in great anguish, from her heart. She’s not even speaking out loud.

1 Samuel 1:20 NIV

So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

SAMUEL here means ‘God has Heard’.

STORY - Caleb’s Name.

Through Samuel, Hannah understood something:

God answered her prayer. And Hannah wanted to recognize it

That’s a really important part of understanding powerful prayer through Hannah.

So, after Samuel is born, hannah prays again to the Lord:

Hannah’s Prayer

1 Samuel 2:4–7 NIV

“The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.

FIRST POINT:

Powerful prayer comes from the heart

Hebrews 5:7 NIV

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

This is why there are no ‘standard prayers’. There are no things that we’re told, you have to say it this way, or else. Because it’s meant to be from the heart, from exactly where we are.

This is what real submission is - not when we’re willing to say the right things, but when we’re willing to be completely, fully open and transparent before God. You can’t go fully in and hold back - it doesn’t work like that.

God is still moving us towards being a person that does and says the right things, don’t get me wrong - but it starts with a transparent heart, not the right vocabulary.

SECOND POINT:

Powerful Prayer turns into trust and worship

Hannah is saying, ‘all the people who have reason to boast - they amount to nothing before the Lord. But the weak ones - they can rejoice. The person who can do it themselves, they will waste away. But the person who has to hope in the lord - that person is blessed.’

She knows it because she’s seen it. SHE was the weak one - and now she rejoices. SHE couldn’t do it by herself - and now she’s blessed.

I really love what Hannah points out here:

1 Samuel 2:9–10 NIV

He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Our strength has nothing to do with it

Which is why real prayer should turn into trust and worship.

Hannah says, ‘strength has nothing to do with this. This is entirely the Lord’. It’s by HIS strength, HIS judgment.

Now, this is the next part of Hannah’s story:

1 Samuel 2:11 NIV

Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Hannah is showing here that she really understands what’s exactly going on. She understands that she has a son by the simple fact that God gave her one.

This is one of the hardest things about powerful prayer

It SOUNDS easy. God answers, we praise. But this is more than that - it’s about shifting our focus off what we get and onto who gave it to us.

We WANT to take gains from our prayers and turn them around and have them ourselves. But even the ways that the Lord answers us still belong to Him.

We WANT to benefit, we want to be the receiver here. But Hannah shows us - The Lord is her prize. The Lord is her benefit. Being answered by the king of the universe, THAT’S what she wanted. And prayer brings us closer to that reality. she had JOY in dedicating samuel to a life of service to God, because God had answered her powerfully.

THIRD POINT:

Powerful Prayer understands that the focus is ALWAYS on God

This isn’t quite the same as the previous point

Even when the Spirit moves, even when the prayer is answered - We need to turn our focus back to God.

And this can be a difficult thing - how do we take care of ourselves? How do we ensure WE prosper? Short answer - we don’t.

See, Hannah’s prayer was answered - but God wasn’t finished with her.

1 Samuel 2:21 NIV

And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

Hannah trusts in the Lord, and rejoices that He answered her. But the Lord kept blessing. HE took care of her, because she was willing to honor Him.

The truth is, it’s really easy to see our ability to pray as a vending machine. Insert prayer, output answer. But then, the focus is on getting our answer out of the machine.

Real prayer is a relationship where HE is the supreme partner, where we’re constantly sharing with God, trusting Him to take care of us, and trying our best to do what He needs us to do.

When we see prayer as a vending machine, our focus is on the immediate, the need, and the here and now. But real powerful prayer understands that we’re all a part of this grand, giant tapestry that God is weaving through history, and you have NO IDEA what God can do through you.

Because we believe that

FOURTH POINT:

Powerful prayer also has a legacy

Samuel represented to Hannah just how much the Lord could do - and she wanted all people to know that too. God blessed her greatly, and she wanted to return the favour.

When we’re willing to take the ways the Lord answers us, hold them up and say, “God, you can have this, it’s yours to do with as you see fit”, we will see great things. Sometimes, the Lord has other plans for our stuff than we do. Sometimes, he gives, and sometimes, he takes.

But the Lord taking Hannah’s prayer for His own purposes had an impact that was felt for centuries.

Samuel turned out to be one of the greatest judges that Israel ever had. He annointed David as king. Samuel had a direct part to play in establishing the lineage of the messiah. He left a great spiritual legacy.

GOSPEL MESSAGE:

Jesus invites us to a life where He is the supreme partner - and He’ll take care of us

It is such an amazing, and full life. I can’t promise that every prayer gets answered the way we want them to - and I can’t promise that life will be easy. But God knows what He’s doing - and when we’re following Him, He takes care of us. He provides for us.

Romans 10:9 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is the ‘Jesus is Lord’ part - that we’re not in this just for some quick way to get what we want. But when we understand, that Jesus is the KING, and we’re here to follow Him and do His will - then in powerful prayer we understand just how amazing God really is.