Hannah's praise and testimony

Hannah’s Praise and Testimony

I speak forth, by faith, a 2021 of answered prayers concerning all that the Lord has promised you.

When the Lord answered Hannah’s prayer, this was a good day, a day to celebrate.

In the post titled, “Harnessing Your Pain”, written from 1 Samuel 1, we read about Hannah’s struggle and travail under her rival Peninnah. Some of the powerful promises of hope from that story are:

Your tormentor will disappear when you conceive.

The pain has a purpose, there is something that God wants you to bring forth even while you’re still in pain.

When God restores, everyone will see it.

Weeping may have endured for a night but joy comes in the morning.

And lastly for the believer in Jesus, nothing is ever really dead. (Read the full post here)

The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer. The Lord opened Hannah’s womb and gave her a child – Samuel. Hannah who had previously come to the temple crying was now back, singing songs of praise to God. God had answered her prayer. And she fulfilled her vow by bringing Samuel back to the temple to give him back to the Lord. (1 Samuel 1:27-28).

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” In Hannah’s praise to God, she rejoiced in God who had made her strong. She praised God who rescued her and gave her an answer for her enemies. (1 Samuel 1:27).

Hannah worshiped God. She exalted him. Pouring out her adoration she said, “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” To those who are proud and haughty and speak with arrogance, Hannah says stop this! Because God knows what we do and he will judge our actions. (1 Samuel 2:2-3)

God had issued divine retribution and broken the bow of the mighty. The Lord had made Hannah strong, “and those who stumbled are now strong”. She was once weak and her rival Peninnah caused her grief but now the Lord had strengthened her. May the Lord grant you strength as you wait on him.

1 Samuel 1:7 says, “Whenever Hannah went up to the House of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” But now in Hannah’s prayer she says, those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. A divine retribution. Hannah’s rival Peninnah had provoked her because Hannah was unable to have children and yet Peninnah had sons and daughters. But God blessed Hannah with more than she asked of him, in 1 Samuel 2:5, she says, “The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children now wastes away.”

Hannah magnifies the Lord’s power and justice.

For his power, Hannah honours God as the one who gives death, bringing some down to the grave but also who gives life and raises others up. Who makes some poor and others rich. Who brings some down and lifts others up. Hannah has seen this in her life, she set her hope and trust in God and he answered her prayer.

For his justice, Hannah honours a God who lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honour. She glorifies the Lord as being in control of things and how they happen and declares, “For the earth is the Lord’s and he has set the world in order.” (1 Samuel 2:8).

In the final words of her prayer, Hannah tells of the Lord’s ways.

She says, “He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.” (1 Samuel 2:9-10)

Hannah’s situation seemed impossible. She cried out to God and our good Father in heaven answered her prayer beyond what she had prayed for. The bible teaches us that God always hears us when we pray. Hannah believed God and received what she had asked of him.

Like Hannah, will you say a prayer and ask God to do the impossible for you? Will you believe with me that this is the year of impossible prayers answered?

May yours be a testimony of praising God just like Hannah.

Arvin Kaufman

www.salvationengine.com