Prayer: Spiritual or Ritual?

Hannah's Persistent Prayer "For this child I have prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I have asked of Him." I Samuel 1:27 by Judy Chapplear During a recent Bible study of I Samuel, chapter one, I was deeply impressed with Hannah and her belief in the power of prayer. If you think about it, Samuel was born in response to his mother's prayers. I don't know how many years Hannah had been praying for a child (specifically a son), but the scriptures say "year after year" Elkanah (her husband) and his family went to worship and sacrifice to the LORD at Shiloh. Hannah and Peninnah (his other wife) went with him. Verses 4 - 5 tell us, "When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah, his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had closed her womb."

Elkanah's preference for Hannah did not endear Hannah to Peninnah. In her jealousy, Peninnah would provoke Hannah bitterly, seeking to irritate her. This rivalry continued year after year, as often as they went to the house of the LORD. This leads me to believe that Hannah, who longed for children of her own, had been praying for years for a child. Although GOD had not answered her prayers, Hannah continued to pray, persisting in her petition for a child; Hannah was not going to give up!


I love some of the verses in this chapter: "...Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD." "Hannah was praying in her heart...." "...I am a woman who is deeply troubled." "...I was pouring out my soul unto the LORD...." "...I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." In her grief, loneliness, and despair, Hannah continued to seek the LORD, to call upon Him for deliverance.

Hannah's faithfulness and persistence were not in vain: the LORD remembered her and she conceived. The LORD gave Hannah the son she had longed for; and she named him Samuel, which means "asked of GOD."

"Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7

What a wonderful example Hannah is of faith in prayer! So many times when we are grieving or heavily burdened, we neglect the One who is always there to hear us; the One who has promised to never leave us. Let's remember to talk to GOD.