This past Sunday we were honored to hear again from Abe Kuruvilla, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. He spoke on being “a light in a dark world”, his example this week was Hannah (1 Samuel).
Her story is one I’m familiar with, but as he spoke I was overwhelmed by the idea that she was truly a God-centered mom. These are the reasons why:
1 Samuel 1:10-28 Hannah’s prayer for a son
- Begins her plea for a child by acknowledging God’s greatness.
- She is the only human mentioned in the Bible to address God as “Lord of hosts”.
- Addressing her suffering by praying indicates that she believes prayer works.
- In her plea she identifies herself as His maidservant 3x…assuming her proper place of humility.
- She requests a son, only that he may belong to and serve Yahweh…she is the ultimate surrogate.
- Her “petition” is the same Hebrew word as “dedicate”…claiming that what God gives is His, never hers. All belongs to Him.
1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
- This prayer begins with her personal deliverance (“my heart”, “my mouth, “I rejoice”) but after that first verse it is all about glorifying God.
- Her joy comes from sacrifice for God’s greater plan.
- This second prayer is not petitionary, it’s visionary…describing cosmic deliverance. “The Lord will judge the ends of the earth…give strength to His king.” There was no king of Israel at the time she wrote this prayer. She was prophesying about Jesus who will reign as King of the earth.
- Her journey begins and ends with childlessness…but it begins with suffering and ends with lasting satisfaction. The satisfaction that can only come from committing to His plan. Being a part of the bigger story.
May we learn from Hannah. May we make requests only that we may return back to God what is His. What He gives, I give back. May we long to be a part of His grand plan. May our suffering turn to satisfaction as we find deliverance through sacrificing.
I always thought of Hannah when I was hoping and praying for children. Thank you for this beautiful and thoughtful Top 10 list.
What a beautiful reminder that what we have is not puts but His… And that what we desire belongs to Him as well.. Placing our desires loosely in his had, knowing he is sovereign. Thanks for sharing:)!
Our challenge as moms is to dedicate our children to the Lord from the day they are born, then remember while raising them that they are a gift from God on “loan” to us for about 20 years until they leave our nest of love. This is an awesome privilege, blessing, and responsibility.
Thank you for reminding me of her example of how to pray. Inspiring.