HANNAH PRAYED AND THE LORD REMEMBERED

1 Samuel 1:1-2 (KJV)

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

I doubt that there is any woman more often remembered for Mother’s Day sermon than is Hannah.

Her story is not the longest one in the Bible.

She is not one of those women whose named is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.

There are no books of the Bible named after her.

But she is a picture of godliness and spirituality.

I think everyone thinks they live is most difficult time ever.

These are difficult days.

·   Our country is divided

·   Our world is filled with hate

·   Our faith is being mistreated

·   Our money is devalued

It seems like a bad time.

But people have lived through times that were equally bad:

·   World War II was a bad time

·   The Depression was a bad time

·   The Civil War was a bad time

·   The Dark Ages was a bad time

·   The Roman Occupation of Israel was a bad time

·   The Babylonian Captivity was a bad time

Hannah lived in one of the worst times of all –

She lived in Israel in an age when:

·   Every man did what was right in his own eyes

·   The Priest and his family was corrupt and

·   The Word of the Lord was precious because there was no open vision from the Lord

Hannah was one of two women married to Elkanah and she was the one who was not blessed with a child.

Despite all of this, Hannah was a spiritual woman.

We have no excuses for ungodliness.

·   Circumstances

·   Finances

·   Poverty

·   Difficulty

Can’t stop you. You can be godly and spiritual if you will be.

I have seven things I want to point out for you concerning Hannah.

First,

I. SHE WAS TROUBLED

1 Samuel 1:2-6 (KJV)

And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

Hannah’s trouble can be summed up in one simple phrase:

“…but Hannah had no children…”

For a Jewish girl in this era, there just wasn’t anything worse.

The woman’s desire to bear children traces all the way back to the sin of Adam and Eve.

When Eve:

·   Listened to the Serpent

·   Ate the fruit God told them not to eat and

·   Gave to her husband who ate also

Something was unleashed into this world that has not been reigned in since, death.

Romans 5:12 (KJV)

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The consequences of their sin was immediate

·   They felt shame

·   They knew they were naked and for the first time,

·   They feared God

Before the day was over, they would be driven from the garden and from the tree of life.

But not before God had made a promise,

Genesis 3:14-16 (KJV)

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

A woman would one day have a child who would defeat the:

·   Serpent

·   Sin and

·   Death

Every Jewish woman hoped she would be that woman.

But I do want you to notice that “the LORD had shut up her womb.”

A lot of the anguish we go through in life is because we impose expectations upon ourselves and others that are not necessarily the Lord’s will.

·   It is not God’s will for everyone to be married

·   It is not God’s will for every couple to have children

·   It is not God’s will for every person to be wealthy

·   It is not God’s will for every person to be exactly what society thinks is best for everybody

Some people live in pain because they want something that God does not intend for them to have.

Secondly

II. SHE WAS OPPOSED

1 Samuel 1:6-7 (KJV)

And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

Notice what the passage says:

Her adversary provoked her because of the Lord’s will.

You will find that there are some who will turn against you just because of that.

2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV)

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

“A comfortable Christianity is almost certainly a compromised Christianity.”

We’ve been so comfortable in America for so long I question whether the majority of professing Christians even are Christians.

I am not alone in that. A.W. Tozer and men like him were saying the same thing 75-100 years ago.

A spiritual Christian will generally have adversaries.

·   It’s not that they ask for them.

·   It’s just that living in the will of God makes others very uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable people often become agitated people.

Agitated people usually cause grief to those who agitate them.

Hannah was troubled

Hannah was opposed

Third

III. SHE WAS BROKEN HEARTED

1 Samuel 1:7-8 (KJV)

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

Whoever said that spiritual people have to be happy all of the time?

Paul said we should,

Romans 12:15 (KJV)

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

There will be times when weeping is the only appropriate response that a spiritual person may have.

There is no reason for a Christian to ever be defeated.

But we will experience things that make us downhearted and discouraged from time to time.

Fourth

IV. SHE WAS FERVENT IN PRAYER

1 Samuel 1:10-16 (KJV)

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.

Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

Anita and I were in California where I preached at a H.O.P.E. conference with Rick Carter.

Brother Carter taught a session on overcoming troubling thoughts. He used Psalms 55 as his text.

He described troubling thoughts as coming from different “streams” he identified as

·   Accusations

·   Betrayals and

·   Conflict

All of these streams, he said flow into the soul like into a huge lake he called “Emotional Pain.”

And because they are unpleasant to us, we tend to:

·   Deny them

·   Ignore them or

·   Cover them up

He described that like a dam.

It’s why people use drugs, lose themselves in work or hobbies get angry or – in the example he gave, inflict pain on their own bodies by cutting themselves.

They are trying to ignore the real problem.

He said the only way to get victory over the emotional pain is to release it through prayer and forgiveness.

Here is what I want to point out today – a spiritual person doesn’t have to hold on to his or her pain.

They can let it go, but not through hitting things or working out at the gym, or self medicating with drugs and alcohol.

Let it go through prayer:

·   Repeated

·   Continual

·   Fervent

·   Persistent

prayer!

Hannah was troubled and oppressed and broken hearted,

But she prayed.

Fifth,

V. SHE WAS FAITH FILLED

1 Samuel 1:17-18 (KJV)

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

Hannah left the house of God trusting God for answers.

She did not know that God would give her a child but

·   She did “go in peace” and

·   She was “no more sad”

Hannah was troubled

Hannah was oppressed

Hannah was broken hearted but

Hannah prayed and

She trusted God

Sixth

VI. SHE WAS REMEMBERED

1 Samuel 1:19-20 (KJV)

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

In one moment God:

·   Answered her prayer

·   Gave her desire and

·   Defeated her enemy

For each person that moment is unique but spiritual people have experienced them, usually time and time again as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Hannah was troubled

Hannah was oppressed

Hannah was broken hearted but

Hannah prayed and

Hannah trusted God

Hannah was remembered

Finally

VII. SHE WAS GENEROUS WITH HER CHILD

1 Samuel 1:25-28 (KJV)

And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

I am reminded of James 4:2-3 (KJV)

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

I have said this many times;

If it is all right to want it, it is all right to pray for it.

If you want something, pray for it until one of two things happen:

·   You get what you are praying for or

·   God tells you to quit wanting it

But here is the thing; when you get it, God gives it to you to use for His glory.

·   If it is a job

·   If it is a promotion

·   If it is a personal possession

·   If it is a child

It is not yours, but God’s. He has given it to you for His glory and not your own lusts.

Conclusion

Hannah was troubled

Hannah was oppressed

Hannah was broken hearted but

Hannah prayed and

Hannah trusted God

Hannah was remembered and

Hannah was generous with her child

What an example of the spiritual mother.

Mother’s Day