Hannah Prays For a Son

Power of Prayer - A Series

By Allana Austin

Two - Part one: Hannah prays for a son  

I Samuel 1:1-20

A Profile of Hannah

A woman’s honor was directly related to her ability to produce children, … and our dear Hannah was barren. Of Elkanah’s two wives, Hannah was first and favorite [1 Samuel 1:5], but the position she held in her home and husband’s heart did nothing to console her [1 Samuel 1:8]. Elkanah’s decision to take another wife was motivated by his desire to continue his lineage, and a lack of faith in God. This decision would disturb the harmony of the home. Peninnah, the second wife, had sons and daughters [1 Samuel 1:4], and would often torment Hannah because she was barren [1 Samuel 1:6]. The Bible says Hannah’s circumstances made her bitter and sorrowful, and that the matter caused her to weep, and not to eat. In spite of all that Hannah is characterized as “the woman of prayer and self-sacrifice and heavenly inspiration”. (Patriarchs and Prophets)

Unanswered Prayers

Hannah is dubbed “the woman of prayer’ in the daily devotional ‘Daughters of God’ and in several other publications as pious and humble. These accolades prompted me to ask some probative question.

Why did her prayer go unanswered for so long?

Did her prayer lack sincerity and faith?

Was it sin, was she being tested?

Was it sin, was she being tested?

The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]. The ‘all’ in this scripture is an absolute, all-inclusive all; it includes all the people in the history of the world, that is, the people who are no longer living and the people who are now living. David for example, sinned against God when he began an adulterous relationship with the wife of the man he would eventually have murdered by proxy to cover up the infidelity. A mouthful, right? [1 Samuel 11:1-17] But! … Not only did God continue to hear and answer his prayers, he considered David a man after his own heart. [Acts 13:22] And as for us living today, with all of our faults he considers us His own. [Romans 15:7]

Did her prayer lack sincerity and faith?

Hannah went to the temple “and prayed unto the Lord.” She bargained with the Lord, if the Lord would give her this child she desperately wanted, she would see to it that the child would work in His service. Her prayer was inaudible. After a brief conversation with Eli, she left the temple and she was no longer sad, she ate, because she knew her inaudible prayer had been heard. [1 Samuel 1:10-18] Hannah would soon become pregnant with the child she had prayed so long for. [1 Samuel 1:19-20]

Why did her prayer go unanswered for so long?

Why Hannah had to wait as long as she did has not been revealed to us. It is something we will have to inquire of the Lord when we see Him. In my opinion without this experience, she may not have come by the exemplary faith and strength of character she possessed. She may not have promised any of her children to the Lord, in the manner she had with Samuel. This was not only a testimony to her of the goodness and power of the Lord, but to her family and anyone who would come to know her story. [Isaiah 40:31]

What is the lesson?

Our prayers can go unanswered for a myriad of reasons. Along with the many prayers chronicled in the Bible, are also the answers to those prayers. When Moses asked to go over into the Promised Land, he found that his will did not align with God’s will, the answer was no. [Deuteronomy 3:23-26] Jacob had to wrestle with the Lord for his blessing, [Genesis 32:24-30] and Abraham had to wait, he did not get the child he was promised until he was as old as a century. [Genesis 21:2]

When many of us would have given up on the matter, Hannah kept on praying. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “ If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” While the context is different the concept is the same. We must give thanks knowing that we will receive according to his will, we must be patient when our circumstances are unfavorable, we must be perseverant in our prayers; not in the hopes of getting the answers we desire, but to be in constant communion with our Father. [Romans 12:12]