From the Heart

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

FROM THE HEART

1 Sam 1:9-18

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple.   10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." 12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." 15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "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. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." 17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." 18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

NIV

As this story continues to unfold regarding Hannah, who will become the mother of Samuel, we uncover several truths to consider. First, Hannah was so desperate and distraught because of Peninnah's constant provocation that she went with a bitterness of soul and wept before the Lord. However, she made a vow before the LORD, which we now know we should not do. Jesus made that clear about not making an oath or not to swear or vow at all, by heaven, because it is God’s throne, or by earth, for it is his footstool. We are also not to swear, make an oath to God by Jerusalem, or by our own head, or even one hair on our head. Yet, before it seemed alright to vow to the LORD and he accepted her vow, he held her to the vow she made. Hannah had to follow through without fail if God honored her promise. The second truth is also in the prayer of Hannah. She prayed with earnestness of heart, pouring out her soul before the LORD with great anguish and grief. We come back to earlier thoughts about our prayers and if we pray too casually, without pouring out our soul, or having any anguish or grief. Do we just go through the actions of prayer, just using the spiritual words we think God likes to hear, or maybe others expect us to say? We might even use those fancy words to make us look spiritual in front of others when we pray in public, much like the Pharisees did. If we learn anything here, it is our need to pour out our souls before the Lord. Even if we may not have any anguish or grief, but simply because we are always in need of a closer walk with Jesus, and overcoming our selfish thoughts. The third truth we should ponder is that when Eli responded to Hannah’s truth of her prayer, he blessed her, telling her to go in peace, and may God grant her what she asked for. Hannah went from pouring out her soul, with great anguish and grief, to going away with Shalom, peace. She went from downcast to no longer being downcast. This is what happens when we spend time with the Lord, pouring out our soul, being completely transparent with our Lord, even though he already knows our need, he knows our thoughts and words before we think them and speak them. It is our heart that our Lord sees and examines. We do not need fancy words, or even pray scripture, as some believe is the way to pray. We only need to speak from our circumcised hearts, exposing our most tender, inner being, our heart before our Lord, and when we do this, we can move forward with Shalom. Jesus promised that he would give us his peace. This Greek word, eireenee, is in the same vein as Shalom, peace, harmony, tranquility, and that means with God.