Attitude-Changing Prayer: Looking at Hannah

Who was Hannah and why is her prayer important? Hannah was a barren woman in a time when not only the wife's worth, but the husband’s esteem was measured by how many sons they had. She was the wife of Elkanah, a man who had two wives.

Because Hannah was barren, he took a second wife, Peninnah, who bore four sons. Hannah was treated contemptuously by Penninah because of her barrenness. Penninah jeered and mocked Hannah relentlessly until Hannah could not even eat. It was not long before Hannah became, in her own words, bitter of soul. But she believed God answered fervent prayer! So in I Samuel 1:10-11 we read her prayer:

In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."

Sure enough, that night God "remembered Hannah"! (1 Samuel 19-20)

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.
So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, [literally "heard by God"] saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

Now Hannah had promised God that if He would give her a son, she would give the son back to God. By this she meant when the son was weaned at the age of three, she would make the long journey back to the Temple and leave her son with Eli, the Priest.

I've done considerable pondering over why a mother who was so grateful for the one son she had would be willing to leave him with Eli the Priest. But as I've dug deeper into the unhealthy family dynamics of that whole family, I have to say she was a very wise woman. She knew her son would be better off serving the Priest than he would be fighting off his half-brothers who would treat him as their own mother had treated Hannah.

The big day comes, and Hannah and three-year-old Samuel make the long walking journey to the Temple. She leaves her precious son with a Priest who, unbeknown to Hannah, had two evil sons living with him. In effect, Samuel was left in an even more sinful environment than the home into which he was born. And instead of crying, Hannah prayed a prayer of rejoicing. I will include only a small part of her prayer, taken from 1 Samuel 2.

Then Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn [strength] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
"There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God."

I don't know about you, but I'm wondering if I could have been so joyful as I left my only son behind. Nevertheless, it provides a beautiful model for prayer, in my opinion.

Years ago, I began writing my prayers. I concentrate better when I write, and it enables to me reread my prayers many times. Also, I thought it would be a wonderful legacy to leave behind for my children. I looked at Paul's exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

So I determined to begin my prayer with praise. Who is God? Why is He worthy to be praised? Next would come gratitude. What are at least three things for which I am grateful today? Next would come my petition. What exactly was I asking God to do? This was not a time to speak in generalities! And finally, thanks for God's faithfulness to His Word and to me.

A funny thing happened when I disciplined myself to stick to this format: I began to become more positive in my thoughts, actions, and words. I expected less of people and more of God. It was similar to a reformatting of a computer's hard drive: negative out, positive in! An added bonus was that it made me hungrier to dig into the Word to learn all of the attributes of God Almighty! What a blessed Bible Study that became!

So, to recap, the format - this is great for a journal! - is:

1. Praise for Who God is
2. Gratitude for what He's blessed me with
3. Specificity in my petition
4. Thanks for His faithfulness to His Word and to me

Try it for a month and see if it makes a difference in your attitude! It's how Hannah prayed, and she's a wonderful example of humbleness and faithfulness to The Lord.

©2008 April Lorier Perspective