There are many great prayers
recorded in God's Word, prayers by great men, men such as Moses,
Elijah, David, Solomon, and the greatest prayer of all is by
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in John 17. But here in 1 Samuel,
the book of 1 Samuel chapter 2, is a prayer by a woman, a
great prayer recorded by God by a woman named Hannah. And
you'll note in this prayer that Hannah does not ask the Lord
for anything. But the whole prayer is a declaration
of who the Lord is, His sovereign person and His sovereign power. You see, prayer should be more
praise and worship than asking, more giving of thanks for what
we have than asking for more. God is not to be called on only
when we need something, but God is to be worshipped and thanked
always. Well, here is Hannah's prayer.
I read from 1 Samuel 2, verse 1, and Hannah prayed and said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn, or that is, my strength
is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine
enemy. because I rejoice in thy salvation."
Now, Hannah had asked the Lord earlier for a child, and the
Lord gave her Samuel. Yet in this prayer, she never
mentions Samuel. She never mentions that boy one
time. Yes, she loved that boy and was
thankful for him, but she says, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord. I rejoice in his salvation, she
said. And so it is that true God-worshippers,
true believers, true God-lovers do not worship and love God simply
for what God does for him or her, but worship God for who
he is. Paul said this in Philippians
3. He said, we are the true circumcision,
or that is, the true people of God, who worship God in spirit,
or that is, from the heart. and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
rejoice in Him, His person and work. True believers rejoice
in and speak more of their Lord, while others rejoice in and speak
much of their church, their services, their work or their ministry.
Hannah rejoiced more than anything in her Lord and His salvation.
She said, I rejoice in thy salvation. Because salvation is of the Lord. All who are truly saved know
that. Salvation is God's choice. Salvation is God's decision.
Salvation is God's work. Salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ's
righteousness imputed to make us accept it. Christ's blood
shed for the remission of our sins. So Hannah rejoiced in God's
sovereign mercy to her, God's sovereign grace, God's undeserved
love and favor toward her, as do all of God's people. I continue
to read verse 2. She said, There is none holy
as the Lord, there is none beside thee, neither is there any rock
like our God. Hannah knew the Lord more than
anything else was holy. that his chief attribute is his
holiness. God is holy. And a rock, she
said. My God is a rock. There's no
rock like our God, she said. That's what Moses said in chapter
32 of Deuteronomy. He said, now their rock, speaking
of false gods, false believers, their rock is not like our rock.
False gods can do nothing unless men let them. But Moses said,
not our God. Hannah said, not our God. Our
God does as He pleases. Why, He is an unchangeable, immovable,
solid foundation and rock-solid refuge. He is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. He is not moved by things, but
rather He moves things. He is not moved by men, but rather
our God moves men. That is what Hannah is saying.
There is no rock like our God. Verse 3, she prays, Talk no more
so exceeding proudly, she says. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth. For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are weighed. She is saying there is no room
for boasting in a holy God's presence. No room for pride whatsoever,
because everything comes from Him. is nothing of ourselves,
not our wisdom, not our strength, nothing. Certainly not salvation. It all comes from God. So she
says there's no room for boasting. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth, she says. Besides, words are cheap. She
says by God, God is a God of knowledge. By Him, actions are
weighed. Actions are weighed by the person's
thoughts. God doesn't look on the outward
countenance, but looks on the heart, Scripture says. He weighs
the thoughts, the motives, and the intents of the heart. He's
not looking at the actions necessarily or listening to the words, but
he's looking at the motive and the thought and listening to
the heart. Verse 4, she says, the bows of the mighty men are
broken, that is, weapons of mighty men will be brought to nothing.
They shall fail. And yet, she says, they that
stumble are girded with strength. Yes, the weak in the stumbling
our Lord girds with strength. It is not by might, not by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. Verse 5, Hannah continued, They
that were full have hired themselves out for bread, and they that
were hungry cease. The rich and increased with goods
are often reduced to nothing, while those in rags are brought
to riches. It is all of the Lord. She says,
The barren hath born seven, and she that hath many children is
waxed feeble. Hannah knew this well. She was
a barren woman, unable to have children. But yet life is from
the Lord. Children are a heritage from
the Lord. previously had shut up her womb,
the scripture said. And yet, he finally gave her
a child, and that child was worth waiting for, young Samuel, the
prophet Samuel eventually. And while her adversary, another
woman, boasted of those children which she had, the many children
she had, as if she herself had produced these children. No,
they were given to her of the Lord, or withheld, by that same
Lord. And yet that woman who had many
was in trouble because of those many, had many troubles because
of many children. Yet this one woman had this one
child who grew to be a great delight and one of the Lord's
own. It's all of the Lord, whether barren or fruitful. It's all
of the Lord. That's what she says. She continues,
verse 6, in saying, The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave,
and He bringeth up, or raiseth up. Life is given by God. In Him we live and move and have
our being, Paul said. Life is given, or life is taken,
by the Lord. That's what Moses said. And again,
God's people don't say anything new, but rather repeat the same
things. They have all been taught of
the Lord. That's what our Lord said. They
shall all be taught of the Lord. John 6.45. And great shall be
the peace of God's people. They are taught that the Lord
killeth and the Lord maketh alive. The Lord bringeth down to the
grave, and the Lord bringeth up. Again, Moses said that in
Deuteronomy 32, 39. The Lord killeth. Things don't
kill. God does. Rather, the Lord Jesus
Christ does. He Himself said He had the keys
of hell and death at His side. The Lord Jesus Christ does. Diseases,
calamities, and disasters are only the means which the Lord
uses to end that life. Those things don't kill. God
does. Christ does. Yes, that's so. No soul enters into the presence
of God and he's unaware of it. No. He decides who, what, when,
how, and why, and where, and for what purpose. The Lord killeth
and the Lord maketh alive. While that should cause us to
fear the Lord, yet for God's people it is great peace, knowing
that they are immortal until the Lord is finished with them.
All souls are mine, he said. And he decides when that soul
comes back to him, and he decides what to do with it. Verse 7,
she continues, The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth
low and lifteth up. Again, Moses said, promotion
is of the Lord, or demotion. The Lord decides who gets what.
The Lord decides who goes where. The Lord decides who is promoted
or demoted. The Lord decides. Whether it's
a king on the throne or the employer in the company, the Lord, all
authority, Paul said in Romans 13, comes from God. Verse 8, she continues, "...he
raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar
from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them
inherit the throne of glory." I am reminded of Joseph, whom
his brethren put down in a pit, a dusty pit, yet God raised him
up out of the dust and put him on the throne of Egypt. Hannah
continues and says, the pillars of the earth are the Lord. The pillars, that is the foundations
of the earth, are the Lord's and He hath set the world upon
those foundations. David said this in Psalm 24,
he said, The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Everything
in it is the Lord's. The world and they that dwell
therein. Everything in this world God
made and He decides what happens with it and what happens to us. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. Known
unto God are all His works from the beginning. The earth is the
Lord's. He will keep their feet, but
the wicked will eventually be in silence, in darkness, for
by strength shall no man prevail. He says He will keep the feet
of His saints. If we are kept, it is God that
keeps us. If we are kept from being damned,
it is God that keeps us. It is Christ that keeps us. If
we are kept from falling, if we are kept in the way, it is
God who does it. And she says the wicked will
be in silence and darkness, kept in ignorance, because God must
reveal the truth. We don't figure it out of our
own. And by strength, she says, no man shall prevail. And I quoted that verse which
says, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit. Not the strength
of mind, purpose, or will, but God. It is God. who makes us
prevail. Verse 10, the adversaries of
the Lord shall be broken to pieces, and out of heaven shall He thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth and shall give strength unto His King and exalt the horn
of His anointed. The enemies of the Lord, the
adversaries, that is, all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ
as absolute, sovereign God, Lord, King, and, yes, judge. Even those who profess to love
Jesus but reject Him as He is, that is, judge, will be judged
by Him. Sadly and shockingly, some will
stand before that One whom they said they professed to preach
in His name and so forth, only to hear the Lord Himself say,
I never knew you. You are workers of iniquity because
you did it for your own glory, for your own name, for your own
work's sake. Well, in John 17, verse 2, the
Lord says this of Himself. In praying to His Father, the
Lord Jesus Christ prays, Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh, given Christ power that He should give eternal life to
as many as Thou hast given Him. This is really who Hannah is
praying to, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ is the only
God whom men will ever see or ever have seen or ever will speak
to or be spoken to. Moses knew Him, Hannah knew Him,
as do all the Lord's people, and prayed to Him and Him alone.
Yes, the prayer of Hannah is a prayer of praise to the Lord
Jesus Christ, holy, sovereign God and Savior. May this be your
prayer and my prayer as well. Amen.