When we read about the Exodus and how the Israelites were
given the Promised Land by God it is easy to think that they lived happily ever
after. The ideal picture is that each of
the twelve tribes of Israel settled in its own region and they experienced the
joy and unity of national life.
Unfortunately, they failed to complete the conquest and as a result experienced
opposition from neighboring countries and were hard-pressed to maintain their land. Along with their political decline came moral
deterioration. Instead of following
Yahweh wholeheartedly the people stumbled further and further into sin and experienced
God’s judgements. Although God raised up
judges to help the people, no one had the same level of leadership and gifting
as Moses or Joshua.
As the oppression and moral decay continued, God had a plan,
a peculiar plan, which included a young woman named Hannah. God’s would raise up a prophet, priest and
judge unlike any of the recent leaders.
Scripture tells us “us “I
will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who
will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his
priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always” 1 Samuel 2:35, NIV). How would God accomplish this? He would make Hannah barren. Yes, you read correctly, God would make this
leader’s mother unable to conceive, testing her with adversity and
suffering.
Hannah was a
godly woman who was unmercifully taunted for her childlessness. Instead of getting mad at God or trying to
fix things her own way or just giving up, she prayed faithfully for a son year
after year. What was her curse became
God’s gift to Israel. Hannah committed
that if she conceived a son she would give him fully to the Lord. God birthed the next great leader of Israel
through the prayers and suffering of this young mother. This does not make sense to us when we think
about it with our Western mindsets. Why would
it take the suffering and hardship of Hannah to birth the next great leader?
Samuel came from
a godly home, from a mother who prayed, who trusted in the Lord and experienced
Him in tangible ways. She was a woman of
great faith, deeply committed to the Lord.
You can bet that she didn't stop praying when he was born but rather that
she prayed for him throughout his upbringing at the tabernacle right up until
the moment that she was taken from this world.
Think about the heritage and legacy that she left for her young
boy! Samuel was known as being a great
man of prayer and intercession. Where do
you think he learned that? He ranks high
among the prophets of the Bible. By
obediently following the Lord, this man turned the nation towards God. By responding to the Lords call he revived
his generation but also influenced others to respond to the Lord. Where did this all start? With the adversity of his mother which brought
her to the place of submitting her son completely to the Lord.
God answers the
faithful prayers of His daughters.
Samuel, the son from whom Hannah prayed, was dedicated to the Lord as a
child and was faithful to the Lord his entire life. He called the people to true worship of God
and persisted to instruct the people in God’s ways. Even when the people rejected him as their
leader in favor of a king, he committed to continue praying for them. He told them, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by
failing to pray for you. And I will teach you
the way that is good and right” (1 Sam. 12:23, NIV).
Now it’s our
turn! Centuries later we find similar
circumstances as Hannah. As our society
drifts further into moral decay, who will be the Hannah’s? Who will learn to
pray and teach their children to pray? Who
will make this a priority in their lives?
Prayer warriors are not built in a day, it takes years of following the
Lord and letting him teach us to mold us into the prayer warriors that He needs
us to be. The time to start the journey is
NOW! The time to learn is before
us. There are many opportunities to learn
and grow in our prayer lives. The first
is through spending time in prayer as part of our regular devotions. But this
is not enough! We must also engage in
corporate prayer. Fortunately, we attend
a church that values prayer and has many entry points into prayer ministry. All are welcome to attend Prayer Summits and
Friday Night Prayer events. Those who
have attended an Empower Retreat can become a staff prayer partner. The prayer room is open throughout the summer
for people to come and spend time in the Word and in prayer! The opportunities are before you, it’s your
choice if you will make time or not.
