Have you ever been so lost in prayer or praise until people are looking at you calling you names? Or are you so wrapped up in what people think that you will not enter fully into prayer or praise.
The pastor, actually Eli was the priest in the temple, called her a drunk and made a special visit to the place where she was praying. Hannah did not get offended and storm out. Hannah stayed at prayer and got her answer. She was a woman who would not be denied. She was on a mission.
Hannah was a woman of great faith in God. She made a promise to God to give her son to God forever. I'm sure that she heard of the evil doings of Eli's own sons. Who on earth would have blamed her if she reneged on her promise based on that alone. Or who on earth would dare assail her character if she procrastinated saying I better keep him at home until he is a little older to make sure he's strong enough to face the kind of behavior that's going on around him. After all what kind of evil influences would they have on such a young child?
Samuel was probably somewhere between the ages of five and eight by the time Hannah took him to Eli. These are formative years. What kind of evil impression would Eli's sons leave on such a young mind? Hannah demonstrated her faith in God, not in Eli. After all it was to God that Hannah gave Samuel. Hannah was depending on God's protection of her young child. Godhad enough power to answer the prayer of one sorrowful, childless woman? Hannah understood God's ways and depended on God to support and sustain
her son in the midst of such desperate evil. Is this not a lesson to parents today?
We cannot lock our children in a closet to prevent them from seeing or hearing of the evil all around us. We present them to God even before they are born. Be realistic, be faithful, be responsive to change in our children. Each year Hannah made a larger suit of clothes for Samuel. Some people get to see their children grow up. Hannah only got annual visits.
Like Hannah we clothe them in our prayers and nourish them until that time when they have to interact with the outside world. Then our job is to prepare the coat of instruction tailored for them as they grow. Each year we take the measurement of the child as it were and adjust the garment for their growth. Our interactions like the coat change as they grow. We do not talk to or interact with a twelve year old as we do a two year old any more than we shop in the toddler department for a thirteen year old boy.
I can remember vividly the day I came to this realization. One of my sons did something He was still a teenager, taller than I was. I remember squatting him with my hand for some indiscretion. Whatever it was I remember thinking this will never do. I have to switch my methods of interacting with him.
Hannah's Mission was:
1. To have a child
2. To prepare her son for the ministry in the temple
3. To support her child through his growing years.
Imagine knowing that you are only going to have your child for a very short time. Each wobbling little step would be precious. You'd tried to memorize their little voices. As you see signs of maturity you rejoice. You'd try to pour in a lifetime of wisdom into little ears that could scarcely comprehend what you were telling them. Each day you spent with your child you'd consider a special gift. You'd cook your homemade specialties as soon as the little toddler could chew so that somewhere in his mind he'd have a memory of a loving mother. What you'd be doing was laying a foundation in the little person's life.
This is what Hannah did. She knew she had a very brief time with her little babe. He was an answer to her prayer. However, Samuel's future lay not with her, but in a far off place of service.
This is the same thing today. We know that we do not have long with our children. I can remember very clearly sending the first one off to school. Now he's sending his own children off to school.
Our job is to prepare our children to face the challenges of this day and age. Prepare them not hold them and stop them from going and growing. Our job is to prepare them to hear and obey the voice of God for themselves.
Hannah realized that it would be God protecting her son, not Eli. Eli's sons were corrupt. God sent a special prophet to rebuke Eli over his sons' behavior, but they didn't change. As we look around today we send our children off to a world that's lost its way. Our faith and hope is in God, not educational systems.
Hannah was on a mission God used her to faithfully prepare a child to serve His nation. It didn't matter that she started off being accused as being a drunk. She was fervently praying. God answered her prayer and her mission was accomplished.
The pastor, actually Eli was the priest in the temple, called her a drunk and made a special visit to the place where she was praying. Hannah did not get offended and storm out. Hannah stayed at prayer and got her answer. She was a woman who would not be denied. She was on a mission.
Hannah was a woman of great faith in God. She made a promise to God to give her son to God forever. I'm sure that she heard of the evil doings of Eli's own sons. Who on earth would have blamed her if she reneged on her promise based on that alone. Or who on earth would dare assail her character if she procrastinated saying I better keep him at home until he is a little older to make sure he's strong enough to face the kind of behavior that's going on around him. After all what kind of evil influences would they have on such a young child?
Samuel was probably somewhere between the ages of five and eight by the time Hannah took him to Eli. These are formative years. What kind of evil impression would Eli's sons leave on such a young mind? Hannah demonstrated her faith in God, not in Eli. After all it was to God that Hannah gave Samuel. Hannah was depending on God's protection of her young child. Godhad enough power to answer the prayer of one sorrowful, childless woman? Hannah understood God's ways and depended on God to support and sustain
her son in the midst of such desperate evil. Is this not a lesson to parents today?
We cannot lock our children in a closet to prevent them from seeing or hearing of the evil all around us. We present them to God even before they are born. Be realistic, be faithful, be responsive to change in our children. Each year Hannah made a larger suit of clothes for Samuel. Some people get to see their children grow up. Hannah only got annual visits.
Like Hannah we clothe them in our prayers and nourish them until that time when they have to interact with the outside world. Then our job is to prepare the coat of instruction tailored for them as they grow. Each year we take the measurement of the child as it were and adjust the garment for their growth. Our interactions like the coat change as they grow. We do not talk to or interact with a twelve year old as we do a two year old any more than we shop in the toddler department for a thirteen year old boy.
I can remember vividly the day I came to this realization. One of my sons did something He was still a teenager, taller than I was. I remember squatting him with my hand for some indiscretion. Whatever it was I remember thinking this will never do. I have to switch my methods of interacting with him.
Hannah's Mission was:
1. To have a child
2. To prepare her son for the ministry in the temple
3. To support her child through his growing years.
Imagine knowing that you are only going to have your child for a very short time. Each wobbling little step would be precious. You'd tried to memorize their little voices. As you see signs of maturity you rejoice. You'd try to pour in a lifetime of wisdom into little ears that could scarcely comprehend what you were telling them. Each day you spent with your child you'd consider a special gift. You'd cook your homemade specialties as soon as the little toddler could chew so that somewhere in his mind he'd have a memory of a loving mother. What you'd be doing was laying a foundation in the little person's life.
This is what Hannah did. She knew she had a very brief time with her little babe. He was an answer to her prayer. However, Samuel's future lay not with her, but in a far off place of service.
This is the same thing today. We know that we do not have long with our children. I can remember very clearly sending the first one off to school. Now he's sending his own children off to school.
Our job is to prepare our children to face the challenges of this day and age. Prepare them not hold them and stop them from going and growing. Our job is to prepare them to hear and obey the voice of God for themselves.
Hannah realized that it would be God protecting her son, not Eli. Eli's sons were corrupt. God sent a special prophet to rebuke Eli over his sons' behavior, but they didn't change. As we look around today we send our children off to a world that's lost its way. Our faith and hope is in God, not educational systems.
Hannah was on a mission God used her to faithfully prepare a child to serve His nation. It didn't matter that she started off being accused as being a drunk. She was fervently praying. God answered her prayer and her mission was accomplished.
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