Hannah was a woman of faith. She continued in prayer, waiting to see her request fulfilled by the Lord. And when He did fulfill it, she did not forget her promise to Him, nor to be grateful and thankful for His grace on her and her husband. She seemed in fact to have burst out with praise for all that He had done for her, even as she gave her son, Samuel, back over to serve the Lord. She praised God for His holiness and His uniqueness (“none like You”) as well as for His strength and security (“Rock”) for those who trust in Him. There was no element of sadness at all, even though she was leaving Samuel at the temple. She was thrilled to be able to parent a prophet. She didn’t brag about how handsome or smart or spiritual her son was, instead she overlooked the gift and praised the Giver. She clearly claimed there was no one else like God and no one else who would be her Rock through the storms of life.<\/p>\n
Hannah is a beautiful, Old-Testament example of what it means to be a “woman of God.” She endured years of silent suffering because of her barrenness, quietly accepting the harsh harassment at the hand of her antagonist, Penninah, her husband’s other wife who had children. She continued to go to the place of worship, knowing how painful it would be and choosing to worship anyway, pouring out her tears and petitions to the Lord. And when God finally answered her prayer, she not only kept her promise, but exploded with praise. Perhaps the primary lesson from the life of Hannah is that we must keep growing in our relationship with God. If you want your kids or grandkids to know God and love Him, it must first be real in your own life.<\/p>\n
“LORD, help us to model to others today who You are to us. Help us to make You the center of everything we say and do.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Samuel 2 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the\u00a0LORD, mine horn is exalted in the\u00a0LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0There is<\/em> none holy as the\u00a0LORD: for\u00a0there is\u00a0<\/em>none beside thee: neither\u00a0is there\u00a0<\/em>any rock like our God.\u00a03<\/sup> Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is<\/em>a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.\u00a0\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0The bows of the mighty men\u00a0are<\/em>broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0They that were\u00a0<\/em>full have hired out themselves for bread; and\u00a0they that were\u00a0<\/em>hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set\u00a0them\u00a0<\/em>among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0LORD\u2019S, and he hath set the world upon them.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0The adversaries of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 11<\/sup>\u00a0And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the\u00a0LORDbefore Eli the priest. 12<\/sup>\u00a0Now the sons of Eli\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>sons of Belial; they knew not the\u00a0LORD.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0And the priests\u2019 custom with the people\u00a0was, that\u00a0<\/em>, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest\u2019s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0And he struck\u00a0it<\/em>into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0Also before they burnt the fat, the priest\u2019s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0And\u00a0if\u00a0<\/em>any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and\u00a0then\u00a0<\/em>take\u00a0as much\u00a0<\/em>as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him,\u00a0Nay;\u00a0<\/em>but thou shalt give\u00a0it me\u00a0<\/em>now: and if not, I will take\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>by force.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the\u00a0LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the\u00a0LORD. 18<\/sup> But Samuel ministered before the\u00a0LORD,\u00a0being\u00a0<\/em>a child, girded with a linen ephod.\u00a019<\/sup>Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20<\/sup>\u00a0And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The\u00a0LORD\u00a0give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the\u00a0LORD. And they went unto their own home.\u00a0\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORDvisited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the\u00a0LORD. 22<\/sup>\u00a0Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled\u00a0at\u00a0<\/em>the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.\u00a0\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0Nay, my sons; for\u00a0it is\u00a0<\/em>no good report that I hear: ye make the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0people to transgress.\u00a0\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the\u00a0LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the\u00a0LORD\u00a0would slay them.\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the\u00a0LORD, and also with men. 27<\/sup>\u00a0And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the\u00a0LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh\u2019s house?\u00a028<\/sup>And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel\u00a0to be\u00a0<\/em>my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded\u00a0in my\u00a0<\/em>habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0Wherefore the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel saith, I said indeed\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the\u00a0LORD\u00a0saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father\u2019s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.\u00a032<\/sup>\u00a0And thou shalt see an enemy\u00a0in my\u00a0<\/em>habitation, in all\u00a0the wealth\u00a0<\/em>which\u00a0God<\/em>shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.\u00a0\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0And the man of thine,\u00a0whom\u00a0<\/em>I shall not cut off from mine altar,\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0And this\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.\u00a035<\/sup>\u00a0And I will raise me up a faithful priest,\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>shall do according to\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.\u00a036<\/sup>\u00a0And it shall come to pass,\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>every one that is left in thine house shall come\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests\u2019 offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hannah was a woman of faith. She continued in prayer, waiting to see her request fulfilled by the Lord. And when He did fulfill it, she did not forget her promise to Him, nor to be grateful and thankful for His grace on her and her husband. She seemed in fact to have burst out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6418"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6418"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16119,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6418\/revisions\/16119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}