Lessons from Hannah’s Prayer and Faith

¹At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation. ²There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God. ³Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed. ⁴The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength. ⁵The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away. ⁶The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. ⁷The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. ⁸He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world. ⁹He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail. ¹⁰Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.” ¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest. ¹²Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD ¹³or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling ¹⁴and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ¹⁶And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!” ¹⁷Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt. ¹⁸Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home. ²¹So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. ²²Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ²³“Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. ²⁴No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death. ²⁶And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man. ²⁷Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites. ²⁹Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’ ³⁰Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.