RECEIVING THAT WHICH WAS PRAYED FOR

Proclamation:

“Early the next morning they arose and worshiped The Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.  Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and The Lord remembered her.  So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked The Lord for him.’”  1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The Book begins with an account of his parents, Elkanah his father and Hannah his mother who year after year had no children. (1 Samuel 1:1-2)  Elkanah had two wives but he loved Hannah and would always give her a double portion of whatever he gave his wife, Peninnah, and his sons. (1 Samuel 1:4-5)  Peninnah would ridicule Hannah year after year because she was barren and Hannah would become upset. (1 Samuel 1:6-10)  Hannah went to the temple and prayed silently while she was weeping.  The priest, Eli, saw her and thought that she was drunk because her lips were moving but she was not speaking. (1 Samuel 1:9-17)  The Lord God heard Hannah and answered her prayer and gave her a son.

Application:

There are times when we are going through periods of anguish, frustration, despair, sorrow, or suffering that we pray and ask The Lord God for something, and we promise Him that we will change our behavior if He will bless us with that which we asked for.  All too often, however, He blesses us and we fail to keep our promise to Him.  Here is an example of a woman who prayed during her period of distress and kept her promise when The Lord blessed her, even though keeping her promise meant giving up her son.  We should not take lightly promises that we make to God.  We should not only be careful what we ask The Lord God for, we should also be careful regarding what we promise Him.  He will keep all of His promises to us. (2 Peter 3:9)  We need to do a better job of keeping our promises to Him.  When we pray for things that will give God glory our prayers will be answered. (John 14:13-14 and 16:26)  Let us be grateful and honor our commitment to Him.