The story of Samuel, one of Israel’s greatest prophets, begins with the anguish and grief of his mother, Hannah. Hannah was married to Elkanah, but was unable to have children. His other wife, Penninah, had no problem in that department and enjoyed rubbing Hannah’s nose in this fact. We do well to pause here and think about what it feels like to see others flourish when we ourselves seem unable to get out of the mud.
Hannah did the best thing possible in these unenviable circumstances. She took her grief and her anguish to God. She poured out her soul in prayer, praying so earnestly that the priest at the temple thought she must be drunk. (1 Sam 1:9-14) Hannah was not afraid of emotion, nor did she deny the great hurt she was feeling. She brought these emotions to God and asked for her heart’s desire, a son. Eli’s response was “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” (1 Sam 1:17)
Thus we find that Samuel’s whole life was birthed in prayer, and in that fervent, believing prayer which acknowledges that we cannot solve our problems on our own but need God’s direct intervention to help us. The reassuring lesson from this chapter of the Bible is that God hears our desperate prayers and answers us. We may have to wait for His answers; we may not always understand the times of silence when answers seem sadly lacking, but He is there to hear us and respond to our anguish and grief.
“As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.” (Ps 55:16-17)
