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“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” (1 Samuel 1:15, NIV).
Have you ever prayed for something so desperately, you felt it deep in your soul?
Maybe it was for a child or a dream job. What about in times of great financial distress or marital concerns? Perhaps it was a plea for someone’s salvation, forgiveness, or mercy in times of need?
For me, it’s been nearly all of the above. I’ve prayed on hands and knees, waiting for answers I’ve implored thousands of times. Tears often mark the pages of my journal as I “pour out my heart to the Lord”. But you know what? I think 1 Samuel 1 shows us that that’s the exact posture God desires of our hearts.
In this chapter, Elkanah has two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Every year, they would go to Shiloh to worship and give sacrifices to the Lord at the Tabernacle (vs.3). But because Hannah was unable to have children, Peninnah would taunt and make fun of her (vs.6). It was such an exhausting experience for Hannah that her weeping greatly disturbed her husband (vs.8).
Can you imagine the pain? The torment? Confusion and shame? The ridicule she experienced day after day?
And yet, when Hannah’s grief was at its highest point, she mustered all the strength and courage she had and went to pray at the very Temple where Peninnah would taunt her. I imagine she walked into that place with her head hung low and her eyes teary. Verse 10 tells us: “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord” (NLT).
