1 Samuel 1:18
We can see how much her inability to conceive affected Hannah. "She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish." She was so distraught, so bitter, so angry that while she prayed silently the priest who saw her thought that she was drunk! After assuring him that she was sober but sad, the priest Eli told her simply to go in peace, that God would grant her her request. "So the woman went on her way and her face was no longer sad."
What a transformation!! How do we get that in our lives today? There are just a few steps that we will take a look at. In Psalms 37:4 David tells us that if we delight in the Lord He will give us the desires of our hearts. But can that work? It wasn't that long ago that I watched an incredibly talented architect draw a wonderfully immaculate house that was to be built on my acreage in Ada. Why was I so happy to see them in the fireplace? Why is my car a pile of junk instead of that M5 I had dreamt of for so long? Clearly God doesn't know the desires of my heart.
Or could it be something else? Could it be that I wasn't really delighting in the Lord? I suppose there's a chance. But, today I do delight in the Lord so where's my M5 now? It's strange that today the desires of my heart have changed. Just as we can tell a man by his fruit, we also can by his desires. If I'm longing for the things of the world, I'm probably not really where I should be in my relationship with God. But when my relationship with Him is solid all I want is more of Him and things from Him.
Oh that tricky God, how'd He know? It's a good thing He tells us this stuff cause we aren't a smart enough race to figure it out on our own. In Mark 11 Jesus tells you that whatever you ask for in prayer and believe that you have received will be yours. Whatever?? Anything? Yeah well, again it's that delighting in the Lord thing. The things that I ask for must line up with God's Will and His Word. No matter how much I pray God is not going to violate His Word. For example, if I am certain that God is telling that a specific woman is going to divorce her husband to be with me so I should just relax and wait, guess what? That is not from God. In Malachi 2:16 God says "I hate divorce." His blessings never violate His being.
But, in the case of Hannah, she had been a faithful woman who longed only for a child, a son which is something totally within the plan of God. Does God want us to have kids so that we can abuse them or neglect them? Of course not! He wants us to have kids so that they will serve the Lord. So Hannah's prayer, for a child to serve the Lord, certainly went straight to His heart and she was pregnant the next day.
Now, you probably aren't praying for a kid to give to God. But what are you seeking? And if what you seek lines up with God's will I encourage you to follow Hannah's example. Pray for what God wants to give you, believe that you have received it and wipe the sadness off of your face. Your answer will be right around the corner.
What a transformation!! How do we get that in our lives today? There are just a few steps that we will take a look at. In Psalms 37:4 David tells us that if we delight in the Lord He will give us the desires of our hearts. But can that work? It wasn't that long ago that I watched an incredibly talented architect draw a wonderfully immaculate house that was to be built on my acreage in Ada. Why was I so happy to see them in the fireplace? Why is my car a pile of junk instead of that M5 I had dreamt of for so long? Clearly God doesn't know the desires of my heart.
Or could it be something else? Could it be that I wasn't really delighting in the Lord? I suppose there's a chance. But, today I do delight in the Lord so where's my M5 now? It's strange that today the desires of my heart have changed. Just as we can tell a man by his fruit, we also can by his desires. If I'm longing for the things of the world, I'm probably not really where I should be in my relationship with God. But when my relationship with Him is solid all I want is more of Him and things from Him.
Oh that tricky God, how'd He know? It's a good thing He tells us this stuff cause we aren't a smart enough race to figure it out on our own. In Mark 11 Jesus tells you that whatever you ask for in prayer and believe that you have received will be yours. Whatever?? Anything? Yeah well, again it's that delighting in the Lord thing. The things that I ask for must line up with God's Will and His Word. No matter how much I pray God is not going to violate His Word. For example, if I am certain that God is telling that a specific woman is going to divorce her husband to be with me so I should just relax and wait, guess what? That is not from God. In Malachi 2:16 God says "I hate divorce." His blessings never violate His being.
But, in the case of Hannah, she had been a faithful woman who longed only for a child, a son which is something totally within the plan of God. Does God want us to have kids so that we can abuse them or neglect them? Of course not! He wants us to have kids so that they will serve the Lord. So Hannah's prayer, for a child to serve the Lord, certainly went straight to His heart and she was pregnant the next day.
Now, you probably aren't praying for a kid to give to God. But what are you seeking? And if what you seek lines up with God's will I encourage you to follow Hannah's example. Pray for what God wants to give you, believe that you have received it and wipe the sadness off of your face. Your answer will be right around the corner.