1 Samuel 1: v 5 … But God had restrained Hannah’s womb. v 11 And (Hannah) 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 …
It seemed that the one thing Hannah wanted more than anything was to be a mother. She prayed and prayed hoping that God would respond to her and grant her the desire of her heart. Her husband felt her sorrow but nothing he did could take away her pain. Hannah chose to believe and trust God and in the fullness of time, God remembered Hannah and gave her a son. She called him Samuel which is said to mean “God hears”. When Samuel was old enough, Hannah made good on her promise and took him to the priest Eli for him to be trained in the way of the Lord.
God had a plan for Samuel’s life. If he had been born in another time and another place, perhaps the sequence of events would have been different. It was Samuel that God chose to reveal Himself to and to give confirmation of His word spoken to Eli in 1 Sam 2:27-36.
Lot’s family ended up one short because his wife chose not to give up that which would cause her undoing.(Gen 19:26) Peter was walking fine on water until He chose to look away from the source of his hope (St Matthew 14:30) . David fell for Bathsheba because he didn’t take his eyes off what was not his (2 Sam 11:2-5). What is the focus of your attention? What do you spend all day looking at?
Sometimes my focus is not at the place where I should leave well alone and trust Him. Sometimes I want the answers now and I push and push with all I have but the door remains closed. At times when I pray it feels like my prayers hit the ceiling and fall back on my head. It seems God does not always answer my prayers (at least not the way I want Him to) . God’s timing is perfect … it may not match up with our dreams and ideals but His timing is perfect. As hard as it is sometimes, the best thing to do is to leave it all to Him. The pieces of the puzzle will fall into place the way He intended them.
If you are praying Hannah’s prayer today (literally or figuratively), do take hope in the following:
1. It was God who restrained Hannah’s womb … Hannah had done nothing wrong. You may be seeking God for something He has kept out of your way. You are not being punished. God will bring your deliverance “in the fullness of time.”
2. Hannah kept her eyes on God. Peninnah mocked and jeered her but Hannah chose to stay focused on her Deliverer. When issues knock you off your feet, your recovery is dependent on where you draw strength from. Keep your eyes on Him!
3. God chose to reveal Himself to someone who was able and available… Samuel fit the bill. He was in the right time at the right place. Sometimes God delays His response to get you in the right position. Trust His hand.
4. Samuel had a praying mother … If you can’t do this alone; find someone to help you pray through. There is strength in unity. Pride may tell you to keep your secrets to yourself. Wisdom says to find someone trustworthy to help lift you up in prayer.
5. God’s timing may not work along with your life-plan … scrap yours and take on His. If you have asked Him to order your steps, be ready to receive His direction.
6. God is aware of our hurts and pains. He has not forgotten us. Hannah lived in pain and sorrow until God gave her a breakthrough. Throughout the process, she chose to trust Him. At the end of it all, He gave her a reason to praise. Your garment of praise awaits you!
Father, I confess that I don’t get life. I don’t always understand why others prosper when those who trust in You seem to only suffer and suffer long. I’ve tried to steer my own ship and each time I run aground I call on You and You are always there to gently guide me back on track. You have shown me through Your word that Your timing is all that matters so I have decided to wait on You for my garment of praise. While I wait, I will trust You, I will listen to You, I will walk in Your footsteps. I will not allow anything to cause me to lose sight of my destiny. Teach me how to truly wait upon You knowing that You only have good things in store for me.
Amen
Blessings,
ann
Toni R
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Linda Kruschke
Ann, This was a wonderful post! I reminded me of the illustration of God’s needlepoint tapestry. When we look at life we see the back side, the messy side of the tapestry and can’t imagine the beautiful image on the other side. But God sees the front side of the beautiful tapestry that only He can weave. Someday we will see the other side, and sometimes even now we get glimpses of a corner. The key is to trust the Weaver to know what knots to tie and what threads to cut. Peace, Linda
tonirand
Thank you for that illustration, Linda.
This whole Christian walk is so based on faith! ( I think that’s why the Scripture say without faith it is impossible to please God …)
Have to trust the Weaver. Must trust the Weaver. Anything else is a recipe for failure and heartache.
Blessings,
ann
P.S. I have my settings set up for auto approve but the comments still go to moderation. Any quick fixes? Gracias.
Linda Kruschke
Ann, Under the Settings Tab, select Discussion. A little ways down the page it sayd “Before a comment appears” and then there are two check boxes. I have only the second one checked, which says “Comment author must have a previously approved comment.” That way I always have to approve a comment the first time someone comments, but once they have been approved on that first comment I don’t have to moderate. Hope this helps. Peace, Linda
tonirand
Thanks, Linda.
That’s the setting I have too but they won’t go through unless I log in and approve them. 😦 Not sure why
Just now I double checked and saved the settings yet when your second email came in, it still went to moderation. I’m lost… I wanted to request technical help but decided to check to see whether I had something on an incorrect setting but based on your note, I do have the right selections.
Thanks again,
ann
tonirand
Hi Linda,
I received guidance from the WordPress team. Turns out I was doing something wrong 😦 but that has been resolved and the responses are going through without a hitch.
Thanks again for your help.
Blessings
ann
Maureen Chen
I like the sequence of events leading up to and including Hannah’s heart felt prayer. She fasted (1 Sam. 1:7), she wept bitterly (v10) and she confessed that up until that point, she complained and grieved but no more…she had a need and despite how it looked to others around her, she wasn’t going to stop until she heard from God.
The wonderful thing is that the God of abundance who we read about in Eph. 3:20 decided to do abundantly more than Hannah asked for or imagined. According to her prayer in 1 Sam. 2:5, God blessed her with seven (7) children. How awesome is our God?
My prayer for everyone praying Hannah’s prayer, figuratively or literally is that the “God of super-abundantly more” will bless beyond your wildest dreams.
tonirand
Thank you for sharing, Sister.
Sometimes we allow others to place restrictions as to how often we should pour out our hearts to our Father. Hannah is indeed a great example of what it means to persevere … regardless. (Reminds me of the woman with the issue)
May His name be glorified. He’s amazing indeed!
blessings
ann
Pat
Yes Ann this is a wonderful and very encouraging post,I too will continue to wait and trust God for his timing is perfect.
Love ya 😀
tonirand
Bless you, Pat.
May He give you the desires of your heart and so much more!
Faithfully,
ann
ServantBoy
Hi Ann
Thank you for posting something that really spoke to my situation and my prayer life. I am a pleader and have been enjoying my quite time with God and recent events have got me wondering about what to do and how to pray. Thank you for sharing Hannah’s story and I so agree with you about how God works things out in His perfect timing and it is ours to rejoice both when He keeps us waiting and when He finally delivers.
In Christ,
Vineet
tonirand
Most welcome, Vineet.
I’m in a state of learning myself … sometimes I think I have it all worked out and the next thing I know, I’m waiting in line again!! 🙂
May He give you clarity of direction and may He guide you to the perfect plans He has for you (Jeremiah 29:11)
Blessings
ann
Debbie
Your post today was a great hope bringer! 🙂 Praying for us to be in line with His will, willing and available for how He chooses to orchestrate the answers to our prayers. This really excites me, Ann! Thank you so much! 🙂
tonirand
Thank you so much, Deb.
It’s amazing how he lines up our situations to work things out in His own time. If only we could trust Him and wait on Him without always trying to run ahead of Him!
Blessings,
ann
Iron sharpens iron. 🙂 Thank *you* for your support and encouragement. Your “simple poems” do pack a great punch!
Much blessings
ann
bendedspoon
Thank you Ann for the hope that you have given!
So true, sometimes I don’t get life
and instead of cracking the code
I trust the Master to deliver
what is fit for her daughter.
If He thinks that I can bear it
then who am I to argue and not to try?
If He thinks that I should rejoice with it
that’s not a problem, not a bit.
I know, I am rejoicing most of the time.
No sweat. Thank God!
🙂
tonirand
God be praised!
You make very good points. This line says a whole lot ” If He thinks that I can bear it then who am I to argue and not to try?”
I’m learning to place my life in His hands and let Him do the driving! (If I bear your question in mind it should be way easier. Thank you! 🙂 )
Blessings always,
ann
Margaret
To humbly submit to the will of God — and yet know that we can plead with Him about our heart’s desires — shows respect, love, and trust in His wisdom….. Just think about Hannah’s trust in the LORD as she later gave her beloved Samuel back to the LORD for His service….. As a mother, her heart must have been praying mightily for him, as she left him in Eli’s care….. Such is love for God — not to mention trust.
Thank you for this post.
Margaret
tonirand
You are most welcome, Margaret.
This could not have been easy for her (especially after waiting so long) but the Lord was with her. Amazing what can happen when we get to the point of complete trust in Him…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Blessings
an
pbus1
Ann,
I enjoyed this post, and there were some excellent comments attached! It is so true, that our timing does not always line up with God’s timing! However, it’s always best to wait on the Lord, and to be of good courage because, He will strengthen our hearts! He knows what is best for us! He may not come when we want Him to, but He is an on time God!
Like Hannah, we must not be deterred by naysayers, but we must hold fast to our trust and belief in the Lord, until our prayer request has been answered! Thank you for sharing! God bless you!
Paulette
Ann
Most welcome, Paulette
We often weary in waiting but I pray He’ll give us the grace to trust His timing.
God bless you too, Paulette. To Him be all the glory.
Blessings,
ann
kenisha
My sister when God does something it is truly blessed.He gave you the gift of writing and allowed you to have firsthand experiences that you can use to bless the lives of others.Thank you!
We live in a world where everything in our lives can change in an instant,and we can’t be certain what tomorrow will bring but God is unchanging.We tend to be discouraged when things don’t happen fast enough as we would like them to.truth is they never do.God is teaching us patience.our perspective is temporal,his is eternal.Hannah prayed long and fervently for a child and when God finally answered it wasn’t just any child that was born.Samuel was a prophet and one of the most influential judges in Israeli’s history.If she had not prayed the way she did,that might not have happened.We can’t become so cosumed by the details of life that it feels as though things won’t change or our prayers won’t be answered,it is quite the opposite.It’s at these very times,when we feel like we’re not getting anywhere or missing out on something,that God is actually preparing you to recieve blessings,answers and the future he has for you when the time is right.
Lord,I place my life in your hands and ask that you will give me total peace about it.I want to be in the center of your plans,knowing that you have given me everything that I need for what is to come.I pray that you would give me strength to press on without giving up.you say that”he who endures to the end will be saved”(matt 10:22).Thank you holy spirit,that you are always with me and will guide me on the path so I won’t lose my way.I cast all my cares on you knowing you care for me.I love you lord.
Kenisha
Ann
“It’s at these very times,when we feel like we’re not getting anywhere or missing out on something,that God is actually preparing you to receive blessings,answers and the future he has for you when the time is right.”
That’s deep, sister….thank you for this 🙂
You’re right about the life experiences … who likes waiting? When I look up examples in the Bible some stalwarts jump at me: Job and Hannah are two of my favourites. Job chose to trust, regardless of what God was allowing to happen to Him. Sometimes He has to rearrange our priorities so that His will can be accomplished… I like to think I will trust His guidance – even when the logistics don’t add up.
Hannah pressed through, regardless. Gideon tested God and found Him to be quite reliable. The three Hebrew boys took the heat because they believed He was able to deliver. I need to be sure of what I believe He can accomplish in my life – even when His timetable seems ‘off’
“I want to be in the center of your plans,knowing that you have given me everything that I need for what is to come.” I so pray! Thanks for your constant prayers.
Blessings,
ann