Hannah's Prayer

Q: What does the Bible say about Hannah's prayer?

Hannah's prayer exemplifies deep faith and gratitude, highlighting her reliance on God for her desires. Hannah's prayer, as recorded in 1 Samuel 2, is a profound expression of her joy and gratitude to God for answering her petitions. After enduring years of barrenness and societal scorn, Hannah poured her soul out to the Lord, vowing to dedicate her son to God's service. Her prayer acknowledges God's holiness and sovereignty, emphasizing that all blessings come from Him. In her prayer, she rejoices not only in the birth of her son, Samuel, but in the understanding that true fulfillment and strength come from a relationship with the Lord, not from earthly relationships or achievements. The character of God as the Almighty and all-knowing is central in her prayer, illustrating her deep theological understanding despite being a woman of her time.

Q: Why is prayer important for Christians?

Prayer is essential for Christians as it fosters a personal relationship with God and aligns our hearts with His will. Prayer serves as a vital communication channel between believers and God. It is through prayer that Christians express their deepest needs, fears, and desires, just as Hannah did when she earnestly sought the Lord for a child. This heartfelt expression of dependence on God establishes a robust spiritual relationship and acknowledges His sovereignty in our lives. Moreover, prayer cultivates a posture of humility and faith, reminding us that we rely on God's grace and providence. Hannah's example shows that fervent prayer can lead to deep personal transformation and an understanding of God's plans. When believers come before God in prayer, they invite His presence into their situations, fostering an environment of trust and surrender to His will.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed throughout Scripture, demonstrating His control over all creation and events. The doctrine of God's sovereignty is foundational to our understanding of His character and actions. Throughout the Bible, passages affirm that God is in total control over all aspects of life, from the grand scheme of salvation history to the individual circumstances of our lives. For instance, Hannah’s predicament with barrenness was not an accident; it was part of God's sovereign plan to ultimately use her son, Samuel, for significant purposes in Israel's history. Scriptures like Romans 8:28-30 and Ephesians 1:11 emphasize God's purposeful governance in every event, assuring believers that He works for their good and according to His will. Recognizing God's sovereignty cultivates peace and trust, knowing that nothing occurs outside of His will and divine plan.

and how honoring it is to our
God. I've read it so many, many times.
I've read it from this pulpit many times. I've read it privately
many times. I hope to read it many more times.
It's so honoring to God. And it's so applicable to us,
so applicable for every need, for every hour, for every conflict,
for every trouble. and how timeless it is. It's
for the young, it's for the middle-aged, it's for the old. How ageless
are these words. And we're going to look at these
ten verses this evening, but I believe the prayer will mean
much more to you if I take just a few minutes and consider with
you what led to this prayer. what led to this hour and this
heart song of praise and gratitude to God, from the lips of this
dear woman, and all that was in this prayer,
what happened before, why she said these words, and what was
ahead for her. If you'll just glance over to
chapter one, right across the page, there was a man by the
name of El Cana. El Cana. And he had two wives. One of them was named Hannah,
and the other was named Penanna. Well, Hannah was much loved by
the husband. He was very partial to her. But she had no children. She
was childless. The other woman, Peninnah, had
several children. And it says here in verse 4 of
chapter 1, when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave
to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, portions. He was good to her. Very good
to her, very good to her children. But verse 5 says, unto Hannah
he gave a worthy portion, the word actually is a double portion,
for he loved Hannah. But the Lord had shut up her
womb, she had no children. And back in those days, I suppose
it was more of an embarrassment and more of a difficult situation,
because it was a sign of God's judgment
upon a person when they had no children. And Panana, she was
jealous of Hannah, and she continually harassed her and provoked her
because she had no children. She gave her a very difficult
time. You can imagine in the home,
here was Hannah Beloved wife with no children here was banana
with sons and daughters and Probably older than Hannah and she was
jealous of her husband paid more attention to Hannah So she was
she's very cruel to especially when the husband was out of town
when he's away When he'd go to shallow or somewhere else Banana
was especially unkind to Hannah Well, it says here in verse 9
that, well, let me tell you this. Yearly, the husband, three times
a year, would go to the house of God to Shiloh to keep the
feast. But yearly he went to Shiloh
to worship and keep a particular feast to the Lord. So he asked
Hannah to go with him. The men were required to go.
The women did not have to go. But men were required to present
themselves before the Lord three times a year, but the women were
not so required. But he asked Hannah to go with
him to keep the feast and to Shiloh, and so she went. And
she was in much distress, much distress. In fact, she told him
about it in verse 8. Look at verse 8. He said to her,
Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep?
Why do you weep? Why eatest thou not? Why don't
you eat? Why do you weep? Why do you mope
around? Why is your heart greedy? Am I not better to you than ten
sons? I'm good to you. I'm kind to
you." But she had no child. And she wept before the Lord. And so they went to the feast.
And verse 9 tells us what happened up there. Now, they were up at
Shallow. where the priest was, Eli, and where the worship of
the Lord was conducted. So Hannah, verse 9, rose up after
they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk, there were
people who drank wine and who ate, had feasted, they feasted. Now Eli the priest sat upon a
seat by the post of the temple of the Lord. And verse 10, Hannah
was in bitterness. bitterness of soul. And she prayed
unto the Lord, and she wept before the Lord. And she vowed a vow
unto the Lord. She said, now listen to her,
O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction
of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid,
but you will give unto thine handmaid a man child. give me
a son, send me a son, then I'll give him unto the Lord all the
days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."
You remember Samson and others, the Nazarite bow and so forth.
Now, that's what she was praying. She was sitting over there praying,
and Eli, the priest, was sitting over by the post of the temple,
and he was watching her. And it came to pass, as she continued
praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. In other
words, she wasn't saying anything aloud. She wasn't praying aloud.
She was sitting over there, just so distressed, so desirous of
a son and of God's blessings, and that God would lift his hand
of judgment from off her and give her a son. I'll give him
to you, and he'll serve you always, and no razor will ever touch
his head." And she was just crying out unto God. And Eli marked
her mouth. Now Hannah, verse 13, she spoke
in her heart, only her lips moved. Her voice was not heard. Eli
thought she was drunk. The old priest watched her mouth
move and her expressions and these things, and he just took
for granted she'd been drinking. They were drinking wine at the
table, you know, to finish their meal. So he spoke to her. Verse 14, Eli said to Hannah,
How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you. And Hannah answered and said,
No, my Lord. I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit,
I am a woman of a broken heart. I have drunk neither wine nor
strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the Lord. Count
not thine handmaid for a daughter of Bilal," that's the false god,
"'for out of the abundance of my complaint, my meditations,
and my grief, have I spoken here unto?" Well, then Eli spoke. All of this is in the providence
of the Lord. There are no accidents with our
God. Almighty God is bringing Hannah to this place, Eli to
this place, depriving her of a child, putting her through
this trial, all of this to fulfill his grand design and his glorious
will and his glory. to bring the praise and honor
to himself, with all his people involved in his purpose. So Eli
answered and said to her, You go in peace, and the God of Israel
grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." In other
words, Eli told Hannah that God, he prophesied that God was going
to grant her request. And she said in verse 18, and
she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and
did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. She got a word
from God through God's servant. God speaks to his people through
his servant. And she had received a word from
the Lord through his servant, and she was happy with it and
contented, and she went her way. Well, verse 19 says, they rose
up in the morning early and worshiped before the Lord, she and her
husband, and returned and came to their house in Ramah. And
Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her,
thought upon her. Wherefore it came to pass that
when the time that was come about, after Hannah had conceived, she
bear a son. And she called his name Samuel,
which being interpreted is ask of God. That was his name, Samuel,
which means ask of God. Saying, because I have asked
him of the Lord. That's why I'm naming him Samuel,
because I ask him of the Lord. Well, you know who Samuel became. You know he was the prophet who
who anointed David king of Israel. He served God as a prophet for
so many, many, many years. And verse 21, now watch this.
Now, as I said a while ago, in verse 21, the man Elkanah and
all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice
in his vow. Here it came again. Here came
again the time to go back to Shallow for the yearly sacrifice
to offer unto the Lord all the means of the household must go. As I said, the women were not
required, they could go, as he took Hannah the time before,
which was all in God's purpose. But she didn't have to go, so
she said to him, now watch this. But Hannah went not up, for she
said to her husband, I will not go up. I'll not go back to Shiloh. I love the dedication of this
woman. I love the commitment, the confidence. Reminds me of
the Apostle Paul, I know whom I have believed. I have his word,
that's all I need. I've made a certain commitment,
I intend to keep it. There was no question about it.
There was no him and her in there. She didn't want to go up to Shiloh
and try to get out of this commitment. She said to her husband, she
said, I will not go up until the child is weaned, until the
child is weaned. Now, according to the report,
there are three weanings of one of these children back here in
Israel, three weanings. First of all, the first weaning
is when the child is weaned from his mother's breast. That's called
the first weaning. What's she talking about here?
She's not saying I'm going to take a baby that I've just weaned
from my breast, take him up there and turn him over to an old priest
to serve the Lord, you know, two years old. No, it's three
weanings. When a child was taken off the
mother's breast, that's the first weaning, but then he was turned
over to a nurse. And that nurse took care of him
and tended to him or her until he was seven years old. They
were in charge of a nurse until they were seven years old. And
then the third weaning, and this is the one she's talking about.
This is the one she's talking about. The third weaning was
when, and this may be where they get that age of accountability
stuff, but the third weaning was when he was twelve years
old. And he was weaned from childish
ways. That's the third way. That's
the one she's talking about twelve years from now. Here she sits
holding that little fellow that God's given her, Samuel, asked
of God. Think of the joy of her heart,
the elation of her soul. She waited so long, she wept
so often, she prayed so continuously. God, give me a son, give me a
son. I've been harassed and provoked
and persecuted by this woman and others because I have no
child. Everybody talks about me. Give
me a son, if you will, I'll give him to you. forever, forever
to serve the Lord. And she sat there holding him,
and her husband came up and said, going back to Shiloh, you want
to go? She said, no, I'm not going.
I'm not going. When I go back, when I go back,
is when Samuel's weaned, and I'm going to take him with me,
and I'm going to leave him. That's what I told the Lord,
and that's when I intend to go back. when I take Samuel and
leave him. And that'll be when he's 12 years
old, when he's weaned from childish ways. So that's what happened. So in verse 24, verse 24, and
when she had weaned him, now I want you to think of this.
This is just tremendous. When he was weaned, when she
had weaned him, she took him up with her, and she took three
bullocks This is commitment, this is dedication. She knows
what she's doing. And one ephah, a flower, she's
dedicated to her commitment to God. I've made a vow unto the
Lord, I cannot go back. There is no going back. I've
made a vow unto the Lord." That's what Jephthah said, you know,
when he said, when I get back, the first thing that comes out
to meet me, I'll sacrifice it to the Lord. And when he went
back, out came his daughter. And he said, I've opened my mouth
to God, I can't go back. I wish that we had that kind
of dedication and commitment. We better have. We better have. I've opened my mouth to God.
I've made vows to God. I've sworn things to God. I've taken oath before the Lord.
And this woman is our example. She said, I intend to keep. And
here's her, here's her most prized possession. Here's her most precious,
here's her son. You know most of us have been
looking for a way to get out of that, wouldn't we? We'd have
spent those 12 years looking for a way to get out of that
commitment. Most of that time we had been
looking for ways to make this, to fix it so we could kind of
wiggle out of what we said to the Lord, but not her. She knew
when she said it, what she was saying, and when God gave her
a son and her husband turned to her and he said, I'm going
back to worship, you want to go? Not going. I'm going when
he's 12 years old and I'm taking him with me and I'm leaving him. Because that's what I opened
my mouth and said to God. Boy, there's something in there. So she took three bullocks and
one, almost a bushel of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought
him to the house of the Lord. Here he is twelve years old now,
in Shiloh, and the child was young. And she slew a bullock
and brought the child to Eli the priest, and she said, Oh
my Lord, As my soul, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I'm the woman
that stood by you right here, praying unto the Lord. I'm the
one. I'm the one that stood right here by you, and I prayed unto
the Lord. And for this child I prayed.
I asked God. And the Lord gave me my petition,
which I asked of Him. Therefore, you see that therefore? I cried to God, I prayed to God,
I asked of God, God gave me my petition, therefore. The rest of it is, if I've opened my mouth to God
and God's heard me, the rest of it is just expected of me.
That's expected of me. Therefore also I have lent him,"
now that's an unfortunate word, lent. You see your center reference,
I have returned him to the Lord. Isn't that what it says? She
didn't lend him to God. You don't lend anything to God.
What she's saying, I've given him to God. I've returned him. I've kept my word. I've returned
him to God as long as he lives. He shall be given to the Lord,
and he worshiped the Lord there. And she and her husband," they
read on a little later, she and her husband, they departed, and
she kissed him goodbye and turned and waved and went home. And
John, she left him there. Now, that kind of person can
pray this kind of prayer. That's how this prayer was born.
So, before she went home, the last line says, and he worshipped
the Lord there, and Hannah prayed. And Hannah prayed. She talked
to God. And she said, now let's look at the prayer. Does the
sale mean more to you now? She says, my heart rejoices in
the Lord. This is where we start. My heart
rejoices in the Lord, not in my husband. Not in my son. I'm glad for my son, I'm glad
for my husband, I thank God for whatever God has done for me,
what God has given to me. But my joy is not in them, it's
in him. My confidence is not in them,
it's in him. I rejoice in the Lord." That's
the way Paul identified children of God. He said, we're the circumcision
who worship God in spirit and rejoice in Jesus Christ and have
no confidence in our flesh. My happiness and my joy and my
fulfillment is not in my husband. It's not in my son. It's in my
Lord. These relationships shall pass
away, but not mine with him. So he's my joy. Is that right? And go on, and she said, mine
horn is exalted in the Lord. And Jim used the right word,
my strength. My strength is exalted in the
Lord. The change in my state And the ability to bear a child
is of the Lord. Not my husband, nor myself. My strength is exalted in the
Lord. I am what I am by the grace of
God, she says. I have what I have by the grace
of God. Why should I withhold from him that which he gave me? I like that story about the,
this is a true story. that I read years ago about the
old English preacher, like your pastor, traveled a lot. Well,
they didn't have airplanes and automobiles. When he went off
for meetings, sometimes he'd go out and stay five or six weeks,
or four or five weeks, and then come home. And while he was gone, his twin sons died. Both of them
got sick and died. And he came home and put the
buggy up and the horse and came into the house and kissed his
wife and greeted her. And he said, where are the boys?
She said, well, she said, before you see them, I have a problem
I want to talk over with you. And he said, well, what is it
that he can't wait? She said, very important. Well,
he said, all right. So they sat down and crossed
the kitchen table and she said, She said, if a neighbor gave me some precious and beautiful
jewels to keep for her, and I kept them, and then one
day she came and asked me to return them, what should I do? Well, he said, woman, he said,
give her back her jewels. They're not yours, she just let
you use them. Why should you have to ask me
that? He said, because the jewels that
God let us have and enjoy, he's taken them back. That's where
the boys are, they're with the Lord. He came for them while
you were gone. And this is what Hannah's saying,
I believe. See, you can't understand this
prayer unless you see that boy, and see, and you mothers I know
how your heart right now aches for her as she's thinking, but
she says, my joy is not in him, it's in my Lord. And my strength
is exalted in the Lord. What the ability to bring him
into the world, the power and strength to bear him. God gave
me. He's God's, he's not mine. My mouth is enlarged over my
enemies. My mouth is no longer silent,
she said. I'm going to do some talking
now. My mouth opened wide in the presence
of Peniel and all the rest of them. They talked about God had
judged me, and God wasn't with me, and I was childless, and
God wasn't blessing me, and I've got some things to say now, she
says. I've got something to say. My mouth is silent no longer. My mouth is open toward my enemies,
over my enemies, because God's been merciful to me, and I rejoice
in his salvation." And we'll sing it out loud and clear, she
says, I have the victory in his salvation. I rejoice in thy salvation. And then she says in verse 2,
watch, there's none holy as the Lord. Whatever God does is right. Here's a well-taught believer. You know, I thought about this
when I was studying this prayer. People are always talking about,
wonder what those Old Testament saints knew. This dear girl knew
some things. This dear woman knew some things.
She said there's none holy as the Lord. That's what our Lord
Jesus said, none good but God. She understands the chief attribute
of Jehovah, and she calls him Jehovah, the Lord, Jehovah, God
my Savior. None holy is the Lord. That's
his chief attribute. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God Almighty. That's what she's saying. He's
essentially holy. He's originally holy. He's perfectly
holy. He's unchangeably holy. Holy
is the Lord as others are not. Do you see what she's saying?
None is holy as the Lord. What's this? There's none beside
him. He's the only way. He's the only Lord. He's the
only fountain of grace. He's the only one. There's none
beside him. He's holy, righteous, just. He's
merciful, loving, grace. Everything is in him and through
him and by him. There's none beside him. That's
what Isaiah wrote. There's none beside me. I'm the
Lord. There's none else. What's this? Neither is there
any rock like our God. Boy, how many times do you run
into the word rock? Smoke the rock. speak to the
rock, that rock was Christ, that rock followed them. She's talking
about here there is, neither is there any rock, foundation,
hiding place, refuge, support, cornerstone, the rock from which
we drink. And you wonder about how much
knowledge they had? Boy, she had some understanding
of salvation. She talked about rejoicing in
His salvation. She talked about the holiness
of the Lord. She talked about there's none
beside the Lord Jehovah. There's no... I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. She talked about that rock, Christ Jesus, and the faithfulness
of our God. Immovable, immutable rock of
redemption. And then she says this, listen,
don't talk any more so exceeding proudly. My friends, we have
no room to complain if we're barren, and we have no room to
brag and boast if we're blessed. Isn't that right? We have no
room to complain if we're barren, and we have no room to boast
if we're blessed. Who maketh thee to differ? Let not, look at this word, let
not proud, arrogant words come out of your mouth. Paul said,
I am what I am by the grace of God. Let not the rich man glory
in his riches. Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom. Let not the strong man glory
in his strength. We're so proud, so arrogant people with wealth flaunted,
people with health and strength. Some of these fathers can hardly
walk, you know, they're so proud of their appearance, and women
proud of their beauty, spend more time before a mirror than
they do before the Word of God. Arrogancy, haughtiness, pride. So many times God says in his
word how he hates pride. Pride goeth before destruction.
Six things the Lord hates. Number one is a proud look, a
proud, arrogant look. Talk no more, so exceeding proudly. Let not arrogance come out of
your mouth. What's this? The Lord is a God
of knowledge. He knows what's in man. He knows
our motives. He knows our principles. He takes
knowledge of our hearts. And what's this next line? And
by him, actions are weighed in the light of those motives. I don't know why we feel like
that if we impress people, or if we hide things from people,
or if we confuse and fool people, that our situation is all right. He says He's a God of knowledge.
He's a God of knowledge. He knows all, and by Him, actions
are waived. He knows. He's acquainted with
all our ways, our down sittings and our uprisings, our secret
faults. God knows. And He's going to
judge all men. And he's going to judge them,
not by what they claim to be, he's going to judge them by what
they are, not what others think of them. Let me show you a couple
of scriptures. Just hang on to that right there
and turn to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 8. Listen
to this scripture here. Ecclesiastes chapter 8, verse
11. Ecclesiastes 8, verse 11. Because sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, in other words, God doesn't act
quickly. We get in a pattern or in a certain
direction and God doesn't just lop our heads off immediately,
but he just delays his judgment. Therefore, the heart of the sons
of men is fully setting in to do evil. We keep going this way.
Doth God know? How doth God know? God's not
doing anything. There's no act against me. There's
no judgment against me. The wheels of God turn slowly,
but they turn. And that's what he's saying here,
because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
and God doesn't cut men off today, therefore the hearts of the sons
of men is fully set in them to do evil. I would go right on
down this road. We're so prone to judge things
as they appear now, instead of how they appear in the eyes of
God. And then she says in verse 4,
listen to this. Hannah illustrates what she's
talking about in verse 4 and 5. She says, the bowels of the
mighty will be broken, and they that stumble will be girded with
strength. And they that are full, verse
5, have hired themselves out for bread, they'll go begging.
But those that were hungry are hungry no more. And the barren
who had no children has born seven, and she that hath many
children is wax feeble or lonely. That's how God works. You can talk proudly or arrogantly
in the presence of Almighty God, because this is the way God works.
The bowels of the mighty are broken. The mighty stand mighty
now. But one day the bowls will be
broken. And then those that were weak and mistreated, they're
the ones that are going to be mighty. And they that have been
full and arrogant, they're going to be begging bread someday.
And those that have been hungry will be hungry no more. And the
barren, now born seven, and the ones that had so many children,
is lonely. You see, what we are, what we
have, is of the Lord. And that's what she says in the
next verse, and I'll move quickly. Listen. The Lord kills. The Lord
kills. And the Lord makes alive. Men
live and die by the will of God. The Lord bringeth down to the
grave, and the Lord bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and
the Lord maketh rich. Men succeed or fail by the will
of God, not by their own wills. The Lord bringeth low and the
Lord lifteth up. Men are rich or poor, succeed
or fail, they rule or serve by the will of God. You know, I'm telling you this,
we talked a while ago about what she knew and what these people
knew back then. It's not how much a man knows,
it's how much he believes of what he does know. Does that
make sense? A fellow can have a whole lot
of knowledge about the doctrines of grace, about the workings
of scripture, or the history of the Bible, or the way God
works. He can have a whole lot of knowledge
about those mechanics of religion. and have experienced none of
it, really entered into none of it. Here was a dear woman
back thousands of years ago, hundreds of years before Calvary.
This is back before David. But this dear woman, how much
she knew, I don't know. What she knew, she knew. What
she knew, she believed. What she knew, she experienced.
What she knew, she walked in it. And what she knew, we know
she knew. She proved it. She proved it by her actions. It was evidenced by the way she,
not just by how she talked, but how she, she's talking to God
about a boy that she promised if he'd give her, she'd give
him back to God. And she said, all this is because
I know the Lord killeth and the Lord maketh alive. The Lord giveth
and the Lord taketh away. The Lord maketh poor and the
Lord maketh rich. The Lord bringeth low and the
Lord bringeth up. That's God. That's how God works. You see, actually, this has a
twofold application. It has a material and physical
application. I know this. I do believe this. The Lord does kill and make alive.
And the Lord does bring down to the grave and bringeth up.
He makes rich and makes poor. But Hannah's talking about this
in a spiritual way. He slays the flesh, and he makes
us alive spiritually. That's right. He's the one that
brings us to really know him. He brings us down to death. Saul
of Tarsus said, when the law came, I died. Nevertheless, I
live. He killeth and he maketh a lot.
He maketh poor in spirit and rich in grace. He bringeth us
low in our esteem and exalted in his Son. Is this not what we were? Listen
to her here. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust. That's what we are, poor in the
dust. He lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill. That's what
we were. And is this not what we are? To set them among princes
and to make them inherit the throne of glory. All the pillars
of the earth are the Lord's. He has set the world upon them. Now watch verse 9. He'll keep
the feet of his saints. It doesn't matter whether those
feet walk in deep waters or on rocky ground or long weary roads,
he'll keep their feet. He'll keep their feet. Their
feet will not slide. The wicked shall be silent in
darkness, for by man's strength he shall not prevail. Because the adversaries, the
enemies of the Lord, shall be broken to pieces Out of heaven
shall he one day thunder upon them. Their foot, what does the
scripture say? Their foot shall slide in due
time, in God's own time. The Lord will judge the end of
the earth, and he'll give strength unto his king. I like this right
here. He'll give strength to his king. Who's his king? I had a young man say to me in
a Bible conference in North Carolina not many months ago. He said,
pray for me. He said, I don't know how to
preach Christ from the Old Testament. Well, there he is right there.
I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. That's what Hannah
is talking about Christ. She's talking about Christ. and
says, and he will exalt the horn, the power, the strength of his
anointed. Who's his anointed? Christ. And here is Hannah back hundreds
of years prior to Pentecost talking about what Peter said, and God
has made this same Jesus whom you crucified King and Christ. And that's what she's saying. That's what she's saying. Whether
it's a son, whether it's a life, whether it's a congregation,
whether it's a hard road or an easy road, whether it's a hard
trial or an easy trial, it makes no difference. I've opened my
mouth to the Lord. By His grace, I intend to walk
with Him. How about you? By His grace. That's what she
said. So here's the boy. Here's the boy. The Lord killeth,
the Lord maketh alive, the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away,
the Lord maketh poor, the Lord maketh rich. Blessed be the name
of the Lord. And the Lord will judge. He'll
keep the feet of His people. He'll keep their feet. They'll
not slide. The wicked now are going to perish. And the adversaries
of the Lord are going to be broken in pieces, because out of heaven
he's going to thunder. In due time, in due time he'll
thunder, because he hath exalted his king and his anointed. Everything's in Christ. Isn't
that a, isn't that something to read continually? I mean when
we, Chuck, when we get down low or when we get up high. When
we get up high, we got no reason to boast. When we get down low,
we got no reason to despise. Because He's the same. His promises
are the same. It's going to be alright. It
better be. He's going to be alright. He's
not going to move. He's going to be alright. And
the Lord is going to reign. He's going to reign. He'll give
strength to His King and to those who are in His King. And He'll
exalt the horn of His anointed and those who are in His anointed.
This world, let me tell you something, this world and all that it has
with whatever it might have, whatever it might have for however
long it might have it, is not worth my relationship with my
Lord. There's nothing in it or of it
or from it that's worth one thought. It's just not worth it. My relationship
with Christ Jesus, my relationship with Almighty God in Christ,
the truth of God in Christ is all that counts and all that
matters, whatever it costs you to walk there in. It doesn't
matter what it costs you. Isn't that right? It doesn't
matter a bit in the world. If I have to give up a firstborn,
or an only one, or whatever, it's all right. Because my joy
is not in them anyhow, it's in Him. Now that's the reason I say it's
not how much you know up here that counts, it's how much you
know down here. It's whom you know, it's not
how much, it's whom you know. And this little lady didn't have
all the so-called wisdom and knowledge some of us theologians
got, but she knew him, didn't she Tom? Boy, she knew him. And she would not be denied and
she would not be moved. So she kissed her boy goodbye
and she went home. Happy? Huh? Happy? Well, I asked Walter Groover
one day, I said, you happy down here in Mexico? He said, happiness
doesn't have a whole lot to do with it. I'm where God wants
me and that's where I'm going to stay. So happy? No. No, I'm not. I'm just confident that the little
girl was crying when she left that place. Aren't you? Nothing
wrong with tears. I'm just confident that her arms
were empty. I'm just confident that her heart
was heavy. I'm just confident she held a
little harder to her husband's arm when she walked away. But
brother in here. She rejoiced in him. She knew
it was right. She knew it was right. All right,
Mike, come lead us in here.

Hannah's Prayer

What does the Bible say about Hannah's prayer?

Why is prayer important for Christians?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

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Hannah's Prayer

What does the Bible say about Hannah's prayer?

Why is prayer important for Christians?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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