1 Sam 1:12-27 Hannah’s Faith CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Hannah had a tremendous faith and, consequently, she received an answer to her petition for a man child.  Notice some qualities of her faith:

She had a strong enough faith to:

Keep on praying – 1 Sam 1:12 – Christians sometimes become impatient when their prayers aren’t answered swiftly.  We are commanded to always pray and to pray without ceasing [Lk 18:1-8; 1 Thes 5:17].

Reprove an apostate priest – 1 Sam 1:13-16 – Eli thought when she was praying that she was babbling like a drunken woman.  Eli had so little spiritual discernment that he couldn’t tell the difference between a woman in earnest prayer and a woman who had been drinking too much.  She had to set him straight.  She clarified that she wasn’t a daughter of Belial and in so doing rebuked the priest whose sons were sons of Belial [1 Sam 2:12].

Believe her prayer was answered – 1 Sam 1:17-18 – Hannah’s countenance changed after speaking with Eli because she knew then that the Lord was going to grant her request.  She is a great example to us of Mk 11:22-24.

Glorify God when he answered her prayer – 1 Sam 1:19-20 – she called her son “Samuel” as a testimony to all that he was “Asked of God,” and was therefore an answer to prayer.  See Rom 4:20.  So often, people pray earnestly for a prayer to be answered.  When the answer comes they never glorify God for his provision [Lk 17:12-19].

Make an appropriate spiritual decision – 1 Sam 1:21-23 – Hannah didn’t go to sacrifice with the rest of the family after Samuel was born.  She decided to stay at home until Samuel was weaned.  Some men get the idea that all spiritual decisions are theirs.  And some women are afraid to speak up when they see a spiritual decision that should be made.  But see Gen 21:12.  In such cases the husband needs to simply discern God’s approval.

Fulfill her vow – 1 Sam 1:24-28 – She took Samuel to the Tabernacle and left him with Eli.  Eli was far from an ideal priest [1 Sam 2:27-36].  Nevertheless, Hannah trusted that the Lord would take care of Samuel and use him in spite of this apostasy.  And, of course, the Lord did.

Conclusion: We would do well as Christians to emulate Hannah’s faith.