Hannah- Faith in prayer and in God

Hannah was married to Elkanah who also had another wife Peninnah. Peninnah had several children while Hannah had none.

Each year Elkanah would take his family to Shiloh and give a sacrifice to the Lord for both of his wives and children. For Peninnah he'd give one portion but for Hannah he'd give double portions because he loved her and the Lord had closed her womb. Because she didn't have children Peninnah would provoke her and cause her to become so upset that she wouldn't even eat!

Hannah would cry and pray:

"Oh Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon 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 used on his head." (Samuel 1:11)

After so much prayer, she conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Samuel. After he was born Elkanah went to offer his annual sacrifice to the Lord but Hannah didn't go saying:

"After the boy is weaned I will take him and present him before the Lord and he will live there always"

When he was weaned she took him to Shiloh and presented him to the Lord and that's where he stayed. Hannah would see Samuel yearly when they went to offer their sacrifice where she would give him a robe.

Hannah was blessed with more children and Samuel became one of the greatest prophets in Israel.

Hannah had faith in God and after praying she finally had a son. She had faith in her prayers. Hannah was so faithful to God that she gave him her son! She only saw him one time a year! That's the ultimate sacrifice. I couldn't imagine only seeing my son once a year.

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have. So use it! Talk to God because he listens to us! Even when you think he isn't, he really is. He may not answer every single prayer right away but he'll answer. Our God is that amazing! He may not give you everything you want, but he'll bless you far more then ever imaginable. Always pray and have faith in the Lord, like Hannah. She prayed for a son and she got a son plus more children. And don't forget to ALWAYS thank him. He has already given us the ultimate gift which was Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. Do you have children? Take a moment to think, could you let your child die for other people? Can you imagine how difficult that would be?? Thank him everyday for that. The Lord we serve is awesome.

*Please note that I use NIV.

**I'm adding in a different post Hannah's prayer, which can be found in 1 Samuel Chapter 2.