Hannah has waited a long time for a
child. Finally God grants her this child she has longed for. After he is born
and dedicated to service to God she utters a prayer of praise in chapter two. Dr.
James E. Smith author of The Books of
History divides this prayer into four sections … 1) She rejoices in the
personal deliverance from a life of misery, 2) She rejoiced in the person of God-his
holiness, his strength, and his knowledge, 3) She rejoiced in the government of
God, 4) She rejoiced in her hope … some scholars believe this has prophetic
undertones of the coming Messiah revealed in Jesus Christ. [1]
What I find striking in this list of
four things is the repetitive word used by Dr. Smith … rejoiced. Hannah prayed
over and over for a child to be born to her. Finally her desire was granted.
What is great is she does not neglect God after he answers her prayers. I think
too often we are guilty of making our petitions of God, but when God blesses,
when God provides, and when God answers too often we do not return to Him … we do
not rejoice. Hannah teaches us a valuable lesson. When God works and moves,
whether in our eyes it is good or negative we need to make time to rejoice, to
worship, and to celebrate God’s working in our lives.
At West Side we are beginning a new
prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily
for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to
receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We
appreciate your partnership.
[1] Smith,
James E. The Books of History. 2. Joplin: College Press Publishing Company,
1995. 250. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment