A Blessing God Can Use

As I was transitioning from work to retirement at the start of 2020, we were faced with a worldwide pandemic. In the midst of a world filled with grief and anxiety, I prayed for God to give me my first grandchild, and to keep me alive to see him and to see God use him. On April 26, 2021, my grandson Elijah was born. As I am watching him grow, I continue to thank God for that blessing and I look forward to seeing how God will use him. In 1 Samuel 1:9–20, 25 Hannah prayed for God to grant her to have a son. And she vowed that she would give that son back to God for His service. God used that son (Samuel) that he blessed her with, to lead Israel as a Judge and Prophet and eventually anoint David as its king. What thing is heavy on your heart that you are praying to God for?Ask God to bless you and to trust you to be faithful to use that blessing for His glory. Amen

Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. 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.” (1 Samuel 1:9-11)

Hannah’s anguish over her inability to conceive and have a child led her to go into fervent prayer to the LORD with her request. Her prayer was that she would be able to have a male child. Her prayer included a vow that she would give her son back to God and that he would live his life fulfilling a Nazirite* vow (see Numbers 6:1-8 on Nazirite vows). Amazingly, in her barrenness, Hannah was willing to return the child she was praying for, back to God. We should be willing to take those things we ask God for and use them for His glory!

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. ”

She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes. ” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. (1 Samuel 1:12-18)

Hannah was so deep in prayer that Eli the priest mistook her lips moving as an indication that she was drunk. He asked her how long she would stay drunk. She responded by assuring him that she was not drunk, but she had instead been in fervent prayer. So Eli blessed her with the assurance that God would grant her prayer request. Hannah returned from her prayer and Eli’s blessing, with her burden lifted. We can go to God in fervent prayer about those things that are heavy on our hearts, and God will give us His peace (Phil. 4:6-8)

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 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.”

When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli (1 Samuel 1:19-20, 25)

Hannah and her husband woke up early the next morning and worshiped God before returning home from their pilgrimage to the religious festival at Shiloh. They made love, and Hannah, who had previously been barren, became pregnant. She had a son and named him Samuel (asked of God). The sacrifice of a bull was required as fulfillment of the Nazirite vow Hannah and her husband had taken. After 3 years, Samuel was brought to Eli to live out his life fulfilling the Nazirite vow made by his mother Hannah.

Conclusion

Tormented by her rival, Penninah, and misunderstood by Elkanah and Eli, Hannah turned to God. She invoked God to intervene and relieve her of her inner turmoil and heartache. To be childless, particularly without a son was a recipe for a life of insecurity and poverty if Hannah’s husband were to precede her in death. To her credit, Hannah endured the taunting of Penninah and the lack of understanding of her husband and her priest. She took all of that anguish and prayed fervently to God for a blessing. But her prayer was not just to get a blessing for herself, she asked for a blessing that God could use for His glory. How often do we ask God to bless us so that He can use for His glory?‍ ‍Think about that the next time you ask God to bless you!

Blessings, Rev. Glenn

* Nazirite means to separate or consecrate to God