* Story taken from 1 Samuel Chapter 1, KJV *
Even before he was born a baby named Samuel was promised to be a servant to the Lord.
His mother, Hannah, couldn’t have any kids and this made her very sad. To be a mother is a wonderful gift and back in the days of Samuel it was considered a curse to be left without children.
Three times a year the men of Israel were supposed to go to the tabernacle, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and offer a sacrifice. Every time her husband, Elkanah, would go to offer sacrifice Hannah would join him. She really wanted to kneel and pray at the temple for a son.
One particular time she was feeling really bad. She couldn’t stop crying and didn’t really want to eat. Elkanah was very worried about her. He loved his wife so very much, and wished she would not grieve for children.
The next morning when they woke up, Hannah went to the temple, where Eli the priest sat. She was still feeling pretty bad as she began her prayer. In it Hannah promised the Lord if he would finally grant her a son she would willingly give him back to the Lord to serve him always. As she knelt at the door of the temple her lips mouthed the words of her prayer, but she didn’t say it out loud.
Eli had been watching her and thought she was drunk. He wanted to send her away, but Hannah told him she was not drunk. She was just a very sad woman and was pouring out her soul to the Lord.
“…for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.” (v. 16)
Eli felt bad for this woman and told her to go in peace, hoping God would grant her whatever it was she asked after. Hannah returned to her husband, and as they traveled home she didn’t feel sad any longer.
After a while Hannah’s prayer was finally answered. She gave birth to a son and called him Samuel. For three years she kept him to nourish him as a young child needs and to teach him in the ways of the Lord. Finally, when Samuel no longer needed nourishment from his mother, the time came to travel to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices. Hannah took Samuel to the house of the Lord and met the priest Eli again.
“And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord.” (v. 26)
She told Eli it was a son she prayed for that day, and that she had promised to give her child to the Lord as a way of saying thank you.
She still got to see him at least three times during the year when she and Samuel’s father came to offer sacrifices at the tabernacle. It couldn’t have been easy for Hannah or Samuel to be parted at that time. Yet Hannah had made a promise and it was important to keep it.
Sometimes when we have big things to pray about, it feels like something we should do
Because Hannah kept her promise, Samuel grew up to be a great prophet. Hannah also found the blessings didn’t end there. She gave birth to more children: three sons and two daughters.
