The Song of Hannah

         "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." - Psalm 37:4 

     

     It's a delicate subject to talk about when it comes to one's desires. The reason for this is because most of the time we see our prayers getting answered in other people's lives and not us. I'll admit it. I have had many outbursts of anger and tears when I saw someone else prosper with the very thing that I wanted. It didn't seem fair to me. I argued with God. Obviously I know myself better than He does, so I just remind Him whose boss. Right? NO!!!!! That is definitely not the answer, yet that is exactly the attitude I used to possess. Looking back I see how my actions were disrespectful to God. I never came before Him with reverence when I would pray. And I never really prayed, I just ranted. I complained when I never got my way about things like I thought I should. I even had the audacity to give a list about all the reasons why  should receive whatever it was that I was praying for. "LORD, I am a good person. I love You with all of my heart. I don't go and party like others do. I go to church every time the doors are open. I do this, I do that." BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! I am grateful that God put in my place since then and has reminded me who He is and who I am. A little word of advice: ALWAYS be reverent to God. Remember that He is the One who gave us our heart, mind, and spirit. So, I think that qualifies Him in knowing what is best for us. This "list of good reasons" I gave God was meaningless. I forgot that I am not saved by works but by His grace. It's a free gift not something to be earned. What I lacked was thankfulness, among many other things. So, let's talk about this and see if maybe God will lead us to a positive solution through the story of Hannah.

Fanning The Flames:

     In 1 Samuel chapter 1 we are introduced to a woman name Hannah of Ramathaim-zophim. She and Peninnah were married to a man name Elkanah. Now, we know that God never accepted polygamy because He commanded that a man be married to one wife. However, in those days the culture accepted multiple wives, and it seems that most of the time culture has more of a say so than God Himself. None of us would be here without Him! Regardless, Elkanah was a good man, who was faithful to bring a yearly sacrifice to the temple of God and worship Him. His wife Hannah had a burning desire. She would weep and pray to no avail. All she received was torment from Peninnah, Elkanah's second wife. Hannah was barren and Peninnah had sons and daughters. See the problem? Let's read a few verses to understand the breaking of Hannah's heart. 1 Samuel 1:6 says, "And her adversary (Peninnah) also provoked her sore (severely), for to make her fret (miserable), because the LORD had shut up her womb." Hannah was so miserable that she stopped eating. Can you relate to her? I can but in a different way. My desire was not to have kids (not now anyway) but a husband. I wanted a husband. Someone to fall in love with me. Someone to call my bestfriend. Someone to share my life with. My greatest desire, was someone to serve/worship God with. You cannot find many out there who are completely sold out to Christ. I have met plenty of young men who talk a big talk about Jesus, but when it comes to seeing their actions regularly I come to find out that's all they do. TALK! They don't live it. I desired someone who is going to live what they stand for. Someone passionate about Christ. I want him to love Jesus more than me not the other way around. I will stand on this til the day I die. I do not play games when it comes to the faith God has given me. And it was hard when I saw other people getting blessed with good relationships and not me. Oh it made me so angry when people would ask me, "You have a boyfriend?" Do I need one? NO! It put pressure on me. My heart felt like it sunk lower and lower every time the subject was brought up. Since I didn't have a boyfriend then people would take it upon themselves to try to set me up with people I didn't even know. It's embarrassing! It makes me look like I am desperate. I was never desperate, I was just heart broken because I felt unwanted. Unlovable. I know now that this isn't true but at the time I couldn't help but feel this way. I also understand that these people were just trying to show that they love me. I appreciate them caring about me, but it did not make it easy. On top of the questioning, there were people who loved to express to me how lonely they would be if they had no one at all. Apparently I was the perfect person to talk too about this. They went on and on about how sad that must be, to be alone. UGH!!!!! It did not help that I had a replay in my mind of classmates telling me that I would die alone. No one would ever marry me. I even had a guy at a flea market one time tell me I needed to go to a singles camp. How did he know I wasn't married? Do I have "I AM SINGLE" written on my forehead for all to see? Another time I had someone come up to me in church (who I did not know very well) and tell me I needed to get out more and find a man. This was going on in the worst of times for me. I cried often and like I said I was almost angry with God. I didn't understand why I couldn’t be happy like others. I prayed and prayed. The answer to my prayers "seemed" to be manifested in the lives of those around me. It was like a slap in my face. I almost felt like I was being mocked. It just made me angrier and angrier. It was kindling a fire in me that only grew higher when the subject was brought up. I am sure Hannah felt the same way, except hers went deeper. I do not understand the aching desire to have a child, I am just not at that point in my life but you might be. You pray and pray through many tears for a son or daughter but with no results. I understand it can be agonizing seeing others announcing their pregnancies, decorating nurseries, picking out names; and it may seem that all the commercials on tv involve a baby just to remind you of the emptiness you feel. Hannah was an inspiring woman of faith and you do not need to be longing for a child in order to learn from her that God gives us the desires of our heart. The question is, have we committed our ways to the LORD?

Commit My Way?

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He SHALL bring it to pass." - Psalm 37:5

     1 Samuel chapter 1 says that Hannah was in bitterness of soul, and she prayed to God with great tears. She entered into the temple of the LORD, bowed on her knees before God, and poured out her heart. She made a vow to God that if He would give her a son, then she will dedicate him to the service of the LORD. Hannah asked, "remember me" (verse 11). And that is exactly what God did, He remembered her. Hannah went home and conceived a son. She called his name Samuel, which means "Heard by God." Hannah kept her vow and dedicated Samuel to God and he served the LORD all his life. Here is something to think about, why should we expect anything from God when we have not given our hearts to Him? It's no different than we someone uses us for their own gain. We know what that feels like so could we imagine how God feels when his own children do the same? The Word of God says that if we are dedicated to God and put confidence in Him than He WILL bring your desire to pass. This is not a relationship for us to receive handouts without doing our part. So if we are not willing, we should not be disappointed when our prayer is not answered. God comes first. The rest will follow. We are blessed beyond measure so why should we think otherwise? Many things to consider, but the good news is if we have made ourselves right with God then we can come to Him boldly. "Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24) All is not lost. We should not be discouraged when we do not see results right away. All God said was ask and you shall receive. I have not read anywhere in the Bible that there was a deadline for a prayer to be answered. Have you? Exactly. Just ask, believe, and wait for God to move. "He hath made everything beautiful in His time…" (Ecclesiastes 3:11) we do not know what God knows. We cannot see the big picture like He can. We want everything now but most of the time its not for the best. We find out we are not ready like we think we are, we need time to grow. Time to heal. Time to learn. God knows exactly when to give whatever it is we are praying for. The exact moment. This is when we need to learn to trust Him with all of our hearts. It's hard. I know. But it is possible and worth it in the end. I'm sure Hannah can testify to this. All the years she waited for a son, I'm sure she said every minute was worth it. Think of it like this, in John 16:21 Jesus says, "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." My point is, yes, it may be hard now almost hopeless but there is coming a day when all the waiting, crying, and pain will be worth every moment. When that day comes we won't even remember the pain that we felt. It will be like it never even happened.

The Song of Hannah:

"There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God." - 1 Samuel 2:2

     I encourage us all to sing a new song in our hearts like Hannah did. Who knows? Our very desire might be around the corner. Either way it does not take away the fact that there is none like our God. He is worthy to be praised in the storm and in the sunshine. We should be careful never to base our relationship on "LORD what can you give me?" He doesn't owe us anything. He did it all at Calvary, what more do we need? It's by His grace that He continues to bestow blessings. It is not hopeless. Hannah when she was in the temple praying she lifted up her head and her countenance was no more sad. She ate her food and moved on with her life, knowing that God is faithful. She trusted He would answer her. She praised God because He gave her victory in her issue of life. He will do the same for us, but the thing is will we take Him at His Word? God meant what He said He does not need our interpretations of what we things mean. No. The Word is true and there for us to use. Speak it. Believe it. Our lives as we know it will begin to change and our hearts will be full. Keep pressing on my friend. When we are feeling low let's remember Hannah. Her testimony will give us a renewed hope. I encourage anyone to read 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2 to know every detail of what she went through. Don't forget God remembered her. He is faithful. I pray that you will know it for yourself in your own life. Focus on the positive and do not dwell in the pain. I know with me God healed my heart of feeling broken because I was not married or have any kind of relationship. He made me stronger. I still desire to be married one day but God has made me perfectly content with being me. It was through the heart break and sorrow that I learned what it was I was looking for. I am not easily persuaded by men I stand firm in what I believe and I respect me. I am my own person. I've gained confidence. I have realized I do not need any man in order to feel complete or happy. I am like this today because of those painful, lonely times that God brought me through. You learn a lot of things from your pain. We just have to pay attention and listen. I am happy because of God and He gave me victory over my heartache. There is victory for you too. God Bless You! Be encouraged today. 

If you have a testimony about God answering a prayer of yours and He answered I would love to here it! Comment below or if you prefer message me on my Facebook page @jsfocusonthepositive.