Week One. Hannah: When You're Broken

There are many women in the Bible that I just adore. I love the book of Ruth and how beneficial she was to her mother in law and the way God blessed her (and, truly, all of us) because of it. Esther is a favorite. I admire her strength as she believes Mordecai’s declaration that maybe God brought her to where she was for “such a time as this.” Some people might not recognize her name but Jael is one of my heroes! She defeated an enemy of God using what she had around her—a tent spike and a hammer! But if there is one lady of the Word that I find myself identifying the most with at times it is Hannah. I love Hannah. Even her name means “grace.” 

There was a time in my life when I was so broken that one of the Pastor’s wives in my church at the time said that I reminded her of Hannah when Eli found her praying and she was so distraught that he accused her of being drunk. I remember it well. I will never forget it. It was a Sunday morning and I had been devastated. As soon as the worship music started I made my way to the altar and began crying out to God. And I don’t mean lightly tearing up, I mean flat out balling and weeping before God. It was one of those moments Paul speaks of in Romans 8: 26-27 where he says if we don’t know what to pray the Spirit of God prays for us. That was me. At that moment I began to feel hands all over me. Many ladies of the church began to surround me and pray against things in my life I hadn’t even uttered. How about that! I didn’t know what to pray. I wouldn’t speak aloud some of my feelings due to pride. Didn’t matter! The spirit spoke those things for me and told these women what to pray for as He was indeed making utterances for me Himself. Hallelujah, we serve a mighty God! When the praise and prayer time was over I went back to my seat. Still upset, though filling with peace, I couldn’t even stay for the service. I had to leave. Thankfully God wasn’t done with me yet and since that day I can say He’s still filling me with peace and blessing the life of this Hannah with immeasurable amounts of grace!

I encourage you to read through I Samuel 1:-2:11 several times over the next several weeks and let God minister to you each day through it. I find that the more I read a certain passage of Scripture the more I find in it and that God speaks to me in different ways and enlightens me about different passages as I continue to search His Word.

Today we are going to begin in I Samuel 1: 1-18

I Samuel

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. ⁴ Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. ⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons? ”

⁹ Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

¹² As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

¹⁵ “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. ¹⁶ Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him. ”

¹⁸ She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes. ” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. 

When we are first introduced to Hannah we are immediately made aware of that she is the one of the two wives of Elkanah. Apparantly, if the order in which they are mentioned is correct, she was the first wife and Peninnah the second. Then the order switches when we see that “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.” Well, it our day and time that isn’t such a big deal. Some women choose to not have children; others choose to wait until later in life. What’s the big deal? Ever met a woman who really wanted children and was having difficulty? Yeah, it’s a BIG deal to her! In the time of Hannah it was a much bigger deal than that. It that time children were seen as blessing of the Lord so if a woman could not bear children it was seen as a source of humiliation and shame. One text in my research even compared the stigma of childlessness to that of adultery!  It was one of the worst plights a Jewish woman in this time could endure. No wonder Hannah was so upset! Not only did she have to endure this pain as a Jewish woman she had a constant reminder of her lack before her eyes everyday-Peninnah. Now, Peninnah was a piece of work. It is most likely that the two-Hannah and Peninnah-each had their own tents at home and probably didn’t interact much with each other on a daily basis, but when they did Peninanah showed no mercy at all. During the time of Feast of Tabernacles (which it is believed was the time of worship mentioned in I Samuel 1) Peninnah had a long journey to trap Hannah with and remind her of that fact that she was the mommie of the two. In fact, in I Samuel 2: 3 reveals that Peninnah would speak loudly in a proud way so that everyone could hear her taunts to Hannah. Regardless of the fact that Hannah was childless Elkanah loved her. The Bible even says at the feast he would give Hannah a double portion of the sacrificial meat. He knew Hannah was hurting and tried to comfort her. “Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?” he asked. Way to stick a foot in your mouth, Elkanah!

I want to camp out here just one second. You see, Hannah was loved. In fact, that could have been the source of Peninnah’s jealousy. The Scripture never mentions if Peninnah is loved of not. It only mentions she had children. Ever been in that place? That place where from the outside all looks well. It seems you have no reason to be in pain. You have everything you need. You are loved. You are cared for. Why aren’t you content? There is just that one thing you desire; that one thing out of reach. I’ve been there. Hannah was in that place. Let’s see what she did about it.

Hannah prayed. The Bible says that once the meal was over Hannah stood up. She got out of there. She couldn’t take it anymore. Hannah did more than that; she took her case before the One Who could do something about it. The Word says that “in bitterness of soul, Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.” My heart aches for Hannah. I’ve know bitterness of soul and I bet you have too. It’s an ache deep down inside that you can physically feel. Bitterness of soul is so much more than sorrow, it’s so much more than pain—it’s like a weight on your heart. Hannah was so deep in “bitterness of soul” she just prayed. It was all she knew to do. She didn’t care how she looked. She didn’t care what people thought of her. She just laid it all out for God. 

In her much weeping, she apparently looked rather odd to the priest, Eli. The Bible says that even though Hannah was weeping and deep in prayer, she wasn’t making any noise verbally-only her mouth was moving. Eli mistakenly believed the woman was drunk! Now how about that? Not only are you so deep in pain from being childless and having another woman taunt you mercilessly about it now you’ve got a priest accusing you of being a drunkard while you are praying! Poor Hannah. But Hannah was not defeated. She defended herself and shared her situation with Eli. She says, “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…I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli had pity on her. I believe he was moved by a woman who feared God and trusted Him to meet her need. Eli blessed her and asked the Lord to grant her what she had asked for. 

I love what it says after that. Verse 18 reads “…Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” What’s the significance of that? Well, simply stated, she believed and got on with her business. She had done the praying, she was doing the believing, and she was getting on with it. She trusted that God had heard her and that He would take care of it the best way possible. She took it out of her hands and placed it in His. She was no longer downcast because the weight had been lifted. It had been removed from her heart and lifted up to the heart of God. It was no longer her weight to bear—it was His. 

What about you? Is there something weighing on your heart? Have you “bitterness of soul?”  If so, follow the example of Hannah. Get up and get away from everything and everyone and lift up your prayer to God. Don’t know what to pray? No problem. Romans 8 says that if we don’t know what to pray the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for you. Ask some godly women to lift up your burdens in prayer as well. In a journal, write down your burden and what you asked God to do. Now get up, get going, eat something, and believe the Lord will work it out the best way possible. You have brought it to the One Who can do something about it now trust that He will. It may not be exactly as you planned it—it may just be better! When we bring our cares to the Father, He hears. He wants what is best for His children and He never meant for you to live in pain. Trust God like Hannah did and expect a miracle like Hannah got!

Join us next week for a deep dive into Hannah’s prayer! See you then!! Leave your comments below and let me know how God is working in your life. Join me on facebook and share your stories there as well. My heart’s desire is that you will be encouraged and that you will know Jesus more. Be Blessed!