On this podcast episode, I am joined my friend, Emily Cook for our 3rd devotional on a mom from the Bible. Emily was in the middle of studying about Hannah, so I asked her to come help me tell her story and what we can learn from Hannah as moms!
Listen to this podcast episode here
I asked Emily: “What is it about Hannah that makes her relatable?”
Emily said: “There are so many things really—some of the more obvious things was Hannah’s great desire to be a mom but having some trouble along the way, which didn’t leave her short on family drama, since her Husband Elkanah’s other wife…let’s call her Penny for short….was having kids left and right and was not very nice to Hannah about it….”
There are MANY immediate things we pick up on in this story of Hannah, but let’s dive below the surface in the life of Hannah…What is it about HER specifically that really stands out?
2 things today that made Hannah today stand out among the rest:
- She was a Prayer Warrior
- She was a Promise Keeper
I asked Emily: “What are your thoughts on Hannah and her prayer life as you have been studying?”
Emily said: “I think Hannah was truly a woman of prayer which set her apart, especially in her day when their nation was crumbling and far from God.”
Hannah gave her burdens about wanting a child to the Lord. Not to her husband or her best friend, or even to the priest. She gave her burdens to God—and true devotion to Lord in this time was very rare…kind of like it is today. Many people were going to the temple out of routine…like many treat church today. Going to the temple was a tradition or for social reasons. People weren’t serious about faith, they were just trying to make it on their own.
Does this sound familiar to you? A culture that wasn’t following the Lord and in moral decay…just keeping up traditions and appearances? YES! True devotion to the Lord was so uncommon in Hannah’s day and is in ours as well…
It was so rare, that in 1 Samuel, Eli, the priest, assumes Hannah has had too much fun visiting and feasting with friends and is now surely drunk…But Hannah is quick to defend herself to Eli in 1 Samuel 1:15 when she says:
“I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer. I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
I think this probably shocked Eli in a good way, to see a woman like Hannah that was truly devoted to the Lord in prayer. The Bible said she was praying intensely “pouring out her soul” from what weighed so heavily on her heart to have a child….
She wasn’t relying upon her friends, her husband or even Eli the priest—she took her heavy burden straight to the Lord!
I asked Emily: “Do you ever find yourself looking in all the wrong places with the things that way heavy on your heart?”
Emily said: “Yes, instead of going to God and pouring it out in prayer I go to God and pouring it out in prayer, I internalize things so many times. I turn to fear or worrying about everything instead of having faith. So, I love how Hannah arrived at the temple fasting from eating and grieving, but then once she prays she is full of peace and leaves HUNGRY and full of hope! I can learn so much from this in my own life.”
Remember: God is always going to answer your prayers, it may not be the answer you want or come as quickly as you want it to, but He ALWAYS listens and ALWAYS answers and that is comforting! Of course you and I know that prayer is not a barter with God to get what we want, but in Hannah’s distress and prayer to the Lord, she asked God not to forget her but to give her a son and that she would give Him back to the Lord, to serve with the priest Eli. And as we read on in the story 1 Samuel 1:21-28, we find that God did honor her prayers of faithfulness and gave her a son named Samuel.
I asked Emily: “Now imagine as a mom, getting what you have so longed for, prayed for and then knowing you will have to give Him up?“
Emily said: “That would be so hard! I don’t even like to think about my kids starting high school or going off to college…and Hannah had to give Samuel up as a toddler! She knew she had to keep her word but it would have been SO HARD to have to give up this little boy she had prayed so hard for. I do think it is so special though that she took him back to the temple which is the exact place where she first asked the Lord for him!”
It’s easy for you and I to think as a moms —“poor Hannah!” Or “I couldn’t do that!” But Hannah made this promise from the beginning to dedicate Samuel back to the Lord and she was simply keeping that promise. God had to give her the strength to do His will and keep her word.
Challenge: Think about how often you have asked the Lord for something like Hannah, but have forgotten to go back and say thank you? We call God the “Way Maker” and “Promise Keeper,” but when He makes a way for you, He expects you to to keep your promise back to Him…to be women of your word!
Hannah knew this! She entered into motherhood prepared to do what all mothers must do eventually. This challenges me, because with each stage in parenting as our children grow up, we have to let go just a little more and cover them in prayer a little harder. Praying consistently for our kids is so important, so you will trust the Lord with each new stage of parenting and letting go.
Emily said: “I have realized with my own kids, it’s never too early to teach and train them to know God and be devoted to him and it’s never too early to pray BIG prayers over their lives!”
Hannah’s vision and prayer for Samuel was fulfilled as we see him lead their nation back to the Lord, and we as moms, are raising up a generation that can either bring us back closer to the Lord or further away from HIM. We must take that promise as Christian parents seriously, like Hannah, and we must PRAY!
Emily said: “God has also called me as a mom, not to fear the world my children are growing up in, but to know that His will supersedes it all. That my prayers for my children are eternal and go beyond me. The seeds you and I plant for the Lord in our kids’ lives will bear fruit in time. You and I will make many mistakes as moms and our kids won’t be perfect, but in all of those times, there is opportunity to point them back to God and His to His Word. I even like to pray with my kids and tell them ways I am specifically praying for them, so they know God is faithful and he answers.”
As moms, our kids are on loan from the Lord, and it’s our job to teach them His gospel and put them into this world to make a difference and share it with others. Sometimes with all the sin and sickness and messed up stuff in our world, we just want to put a bubble around our children and protect them from everything, but we can’t do that.
It’s time on your knees in prayer that can shield them from the enemy, as they grow into the young men and young women God has made them to be. Pray that they first follow Christ and second, that they go after HIS plan for their life…not mom’s plan!
I mean I have to smile when I think about Hannah and even though she only got a short time with Samuel, I know she never stopped praying for him to grow into the man God wanted Him to be….
One thing is clear from all of this…
A Mother’s work is never done, even after diapers, pee wee ball or dance class, helping with homework and many more stages to come….we can be on our knees praying through it all! Hannah, even though she only got a short time with Samuel, she never stopped praying for him to grow into the man God wanted Him to be. This is how we keep our promise to the Lord: by continuing to pray for our kids and point them towards Jesus!
So what is our takeaway for today: Hannah was a prayer warrior and a promise keeper.
How can we as moms do a better job with these two things:
- Bringing your children to the Lord should be a first thought of the day!
- Everyday, not just when something is going wrong, take your praises and your burdens to the Lord. We need to be praying in the good and the hard times!
- Be a woman of your word and do what you say you will do!
- Be thankful to the Lord when he answers your prayers—no day is too busy or too crazy to stop and thank Him!
- And let your kids hear you thank the Lord for answered prayers and talk to them about it. This will hero the understand the faithfulness of God in real ways that they can see and understand!
How can I practically be a prayer warrior & promise keeper?
1. Pray anytime & anywhere!
I have found journaling is too inconsistent or timely for me in different seasons, so I just pray as I go all throughout the day…
2. Journal when I can. Something that works for me:
As I settle down at night or wake up in the morning, I keep a little notebook by my bed and will write things I am grateful for to remember or prayer requests I have from the day. And it’s ALL in bullet points or an EASY list format….You could even keep this list on your phone and set reminders to pray!
3. Review your prayers!
Go back and look and you will see the faithfulness of God displayed over and over again! God does answer our prayers, but because each day is so busy, It’s easy to forget the things God has has done for you while you are preoccupied with what you are praying for in the moment this day!
Challenge: Give it a try! Even a sleep-deprived momma or scatter brain, who doesn’t like to write, can handle these 3 things!
You and I must remember in all situations, just like we learned from Hannah today….We must be women of prayer that take things to God first! And when He answers, not to forget to keep our promise to say thank you and we raise up children to know Him, love Him and LIVE for Him! That is how we can truly change this world….
Many thanks to Emily Cook for joining me on this episode! She has a great resource she has written, I want her to tell you about today:
Emily said: “Yes, I have written a devotional workbook and prayer guide called “Longing for His Appearing: Words for Watching and Waiting.” Just like Hannah, I’m encouraging you to turn your eyes to the Lord and pray faithfully during the strange times we are living through. You can find it at emilypeytoncook.com or on Amazon. And please be sure to follow me on Instagram for more to come @emilypeytoncook.”
I hope you have also been challenged by our study on Hannah today! For more Mom of the Bible podcasts and blogs, please follow us on instagram @faithful31moms to find out all the latest!
Listen to this podcast episode here