A prayer that reveals God’s heart for the hurting – 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, Part 5

When we are going through difficulties in life, we wonder if God sees or cares. When our difficulties are prolonged and our prayers seem unanswered, we can really doubt God. This week on the blog, we’ve been studying 1st Samuel 1:1-2:11, the story of a woman, Hannah, who was battling infertility, and it seemed to her that God didn’t care. Yet he did see her! If you haven’t read those previous posts, you can do starting here.

In this final post, we see the faithful heart of Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verses 1-10.  You can read it here on Bible Gateway. Then come back to this post for a few final reflections on Hannah’s story.

Now that you’ve read Hannah’s prayer, there were a couple lines in the prayer that made me wonder if Hannah prayed this out loud in front of her rival Peninnah (for an earlier post about their rivalry, click here). Look again at verse 3: “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.”

Or the second half of verse 5: “She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.”

I wonder if Hannah, when she was praying, looked up at Peninnah when she said those words, as if Hannah is saying, “Are you listening to this, Peninnah?  You should be!”

That said, the main theme of Hannah’s prayer is God’s might, holiness, and provision, particularly for those on the margins.  This is very personal for Hannah.  She was one of those people on the margins.  A barren woman.  Thankfully she had a husband who loved her, but he also had another wife who made life quite complicated for Hannah. Hannah knows a thing or two about being downtrodden. 

Hannah’s prayer talks about God’s heart for those who are hurting.  God is for those who have enemies.  God is for those who are being bullied.  God is for those who stumble.  God is for the hungry, the barren, the poor, the needy, the people who live for God.  It is not our strength, but God’s strength that cares for the marginalized. 

Think about what Hannah’s prayer teaches us about God’s heart for people in our world.  God has a heart for the people who are struggling.  People like those in our community who are hurting, bullied, hungry, broken, struggling.  Maybe that describes you. Know that God is for you.  Lament to him, cry out to him. 

Know that God sees you.  Even if the circumstance doesn’t change like we want it to change.  He sees you.  He is with you.  Keep talking with him. Pour out your soul to him, just like Hannah.

Photo by john crozier on Unsplash