Hannah's Faith

1 Samuel 1-28

Where is your Faith?

Three lessons from Hannah’s story that will help us see how faith can show up in our everyday lives.

Lesson One - Keep your mouth and hands off of the situation so that God will get all the glory from your comeback!

Lesson one is taken from I Samuel 1:6 "So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children."

Peninnah felt a sense of pride to be the only one to have children. She wanted to make sure Hannah knew that not having children was one of the worst things that could happen when a woman gets married. She wasn't kind or compassionate towards Hannah, yet Hannah remained humble. Hannah was devastated about not having children, but she did not return evil for evil. Instead she took her burden to God. She cried out to God and believed that He would hear her cry. When faced with situations like this, where someone is taunting you for whatever reason. Make a decision that you WILL NOT return harsh words nor actions towards them. Make a decision that you will turn them over to God. Allow God to deal with those who do you wrong, do not try and give evil for evil. Have faith that God will fight your battles as you continue to follow His will. Go to the person over your tormentor, which is God, and make your request known. Do as Hannah did and remind God of what’s been happening and continue to make your request known until you see it come to pass.

Lesson Two - Stay humble with a clean heart.

Lesson two is taken form 1 Samuel 1:13-18 "Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking.“Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!"“Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”“Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad."

This entire interaction is necessary to see the lesson. Hannah clearly looked as though she was not in her right mind or drunk as Eli claimed. Understanding this fact, Hannah respectfully corrected Eli sharing her heart. She didn't get offended by Eli's assumption. She simply shared her desperate prayer for a child. In her honor of who Eli was and not getting upset or offended and being vulnerable to him, she was told to "go in peace." Eli assured her that God was going to grant her request. Just because your mentor, leader, or person in authority misinterprets and gets it wrong, it doesn't mean that you have to allow offense to set in. Stay humble and share what's on your heart. No one is above making mistakes OR giving an explanation.

Lesson Three - Keep your vow to God!

Lesson three is taken from 1 Samuel 1:10-11 & 27-28 "Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there."

In a private moment with God, Hannah made a vow. She prayed a prayer that no one heard. It was only between her and God. When God granted Hannah's request, she kept her word. She told her husband of her prayer and he encouraged her to honor her word! Honor your word saints! When you make a vow, commitment to the Lord, honor what you said you will do. It’s not a matter of whether it's easy or hard. It’s a matter of trust. Can God trust you with what you say? He will love us regardless, but can He trust you? Lord help us to be men and women of our word because of our deep desire to please you Lord!

I pray these 3 lessons have allowed you to view Hannah’s story from a new perspective and given you insight on how faith can be revealed in our everyday lives. If we find ourselves falling short in any of these lessons, the solution is simple, repent. Ask God for forgiveness and move forward in victory not repeating the same mistakes. Faith is an action word. Everyday we take faith steps in obedience to what God is showing us. Let's continue to work our faith as Hannah did.

If this post encouraged you in any way, I would love to hear about it in the comments. Maybe you would like to add what God has placed in your heart about faith in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you and interacting with you.

Blessings to you!