A Mother who prays

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Well, good morning.

Welcome.

Happy Mother's Day.

What a sweet picture it is to look out and see.

Many mothers that are visiting, some of your children that are visiting, and uh just so thankful today.

Where would we be without mom?

We wouldn't.

We're so thankful, and I want to say that I'm thankful for my mother.

I want to ask you to pray for her.

She'd spent the front part of this week in the hospital, but um as I've had children and watched my wife with our children, I've grown to learn that there is, as a child, you don't see it the same way, but there's no there's no love like a mother's love.

Children, nobody on this planet is ever gonna love you like that woman next to you.

And there's just, and now that I've seen it, I've been able to reflect and say, man, my mother, good, bad, and different in all my ways, my mom has loved and supported.

And so thank you for that motherly love.

And Heather was away for a few days, and it's kind of humorous.

The kids they come home, and I there's nothing we can do about it, man.

The house is just gloomier, right?

Like I look at them and I know they come home, and I'm like, I'm sorry, there's not anything I can really do.

I can't fix it.

Mom's not here.

And uh, moms, you do things throughout those young ages.

You carry calendars and medicines and snacks, and and you carry the emotions of the house, and and and somehow all of life at once is in your bags and in your person, and dads are like, nobody went to the ER this week.

That's a success.

But I do want to say if today is a little bit of a different feeling for you, I know that people carry different types of heaviness about Mother's Day, Father's Day, even holidays, because you may be missing somebody that loved you, and I know that that is hard.

And another thing to that is you may have a relationship that is strained, and and I understand that that is hard, and I know that there are ladies here that wish and hope to one day be a mother, and I understand that that is heavy, and I do want to, I shared it last week, but there was this picture of a shepherd whose a mother left her you, and the picture was this that when that happens, the great shepherd is giving himself, and maybe God wants you to be closer to him.

And today, as you hear these things, I want you to be encouraged, and in this church body, I want to say this.

And as we do this dedication, you may not be a mother today, but there is a village of children and people that need you.

We need second moms, and we need people that step up into that place and surround their church family, and so we are thankful today for all of you.

Take your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 1.

1 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

1 Samuel chapter 1.

1 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

And I want you to turn there, and we're gonna look starting at verse 9 through 11, just to give a little bit of background as we build on verse 9.

El Cana, Panina, and Hannah are a family.

And when we get to verse 9, year after year they have gone to the temple, and El Cana has given a portion, and uh he would go one by one through his family.

Here's a portion for you, here's a portion for you, Panina, here's your portion.

And as it turns out, he would look to Hannah, and presumably he does what he does for her out of a place of love.

But I think what he does makes everything worse.

He turns to Hannah and it says, because he loved her, he gives her in front of all of these people a double portion.

Here's your one, here's your one, here's your there's your two.

And I think what comes from a place of love probably made things a little bit worse.

So Hannah's in this situation as we get to verse 9, surrounded by a family, none of which are hers, except for El Cana.

She's misunderstood, I think, by her husband.

And it says that Penina, this other wife, by the way, polygamy is never the Bible way.

Um, it always, everywhere in Scripture, turns into strife.

Uh, but culturally, it was allotted in situations that they did this, but it's not the Bible way.

So she's provoked by panina, and silently she's aching for something she does not have, and it says there year by year.

But what makes Hannah remarkable that we're gonna key in on today isn't just the pain that she's going through, it's what she does with pain.

And on this Mother's Day, we're looking at a woman who, when her heart was breaking, she took her needs to the Lord and she poured her soul out to the Lord.

And maybe today that's exactly what you need.

Can we pray?

Father, we love you, and we're thankful today to be in your house.

We're thankful for the opportunity to hear your word.

And God, what a picture.

These children here, mothers throughout this place, Lord, we're so thankful for those that are visiting.

And God, I'm thankful for our church family.

Lord, I pray that you would open up our hearts for the next few moments and just allow any distraction to be behind us.

And for just a few moments, God, speak directly to us what your word needs to say.

We love you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, let's look there at 1 Samuel 1, 9 through 11.

The first point this morning is this: Hannah's posture was humble.

So Hannah arose after all those things.

They had finished eating and drinking.

They're at the temple in Shiloh.

Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.

And she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

Then she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I'll give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.

I want you to see, letter A, a servant-spirited Hannah.

The spirit that she brings to God in prayer.

Look at her first reference.

She referenced the Lord of hosts.

That is the word Saba, and it is God of angel armies.

And that name highlights a great attribute of God.

It's important when you come to the Lord in prayer.

Jesus taught to the disciples in Luke 11.

He says, When you come to the Lord, they said, Teach us to pray.

And he begins this way: it says, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

So he begins a prayer with an address to the one being prayed to.

It says to call on his name.

Hannah, who felt a war in our heart, who felt a tension, who felt struggle in her heart, comes before the Lord going through a war, and she chooses to address him.

Saba, the Lord of angel armies, host of armies.

She addresses the Lord in her prayer.

She calls on his name.

And I want to invite each and every person here.

When you go to the Lord, pray to him, call on his name, call on his attributes, call on his might.

She comes in this servant spirit, recognizing when she's doing that the worth of the one whom she's calling.

Now look at how Hannah looks at herself.

Three times in this passage, I read it, she refers to herself as maidservant.

The word for maidservant is a ma.

And in contrast to the Lord of angel armies, a ma means utterly unworthy of attention.

Your maidservant, utterly unworthy.

This is kind of humorous to me as it relates to children who have zero care for who has their mother's attention.

Right?

When they come, you know when a child is young and a mom is on the phone, that is the funniest time to watch a child.

Mom, mom, mom, mom's just talking away, and moms, you do an amazing job of ignoring things.

Mom, mom hitting you, mom, and they're just going on like everything, and and asleep?

You've been asleep, and you think a child might see that you never sleep, and then that moment you are asleep, we'll just leave mom alone.

No! Hey, hey, mom, it looks like you're sleeping.

I need something.

Can you cook me a grilled cheese, mom?

Right?

They just stand there rapidly, mom, mom, mom.

How about teens?

Teens, it becomes fire texting.

Have you received this?

Hey, mom, I texted you.

Mom, mom, hey, mom, did you you hadn't answered my text?

Mom, mom, and it's blowing up in all the pictures and all the things, mom, right?

Because it is obvious that mom never has anything in the whole world to do except for respond to that teenager's needs.

Well, this is the plight of a mother.

Hannah says, I know that before the God of all creation, I am utterly unworthy of his attention.

The Bible says that the Lord opposes the proud, but exalts the humble.

Hannah comes humbly to God in prayer.

She's battling, she's burdened, but she comes in the right spirit, in the right way.

Letter B is the submissive supplication.

She uses some words.

There's words here used in strength of how she feels.

So I would say today, what do you do when you're bitter?

Hannah was upset.

What do you do when you're depressed?

What do you do when you've been provoked by somebody?

This was no ordinary provocation.

It says again and again, year after year, they were going to this church and Panina provoked her.

Growing up, uh, my parents could get out of the car at church and they just had a barn burner.

Y'all know what I'm talking about?

Some of y'all probably happened this morning.

Listen, and I'm okay with that because Satan hates church.

So if you fall on the way to church, it's okay.

You're not crazy.

It just happens.

There's this whole deal.

You're trying to get children and everybody ready, and everybody has different ideas of how they're gonna get here and who's gonna be late, and I need my coffee and all this stuff, right?

And you got here, but my parents barn burner, just bam, bam.

And my dad would step one foot out of the car, and here comes brother so-and-so, and he'd say, Well, hello, praise the Lord, brother, right?

How are you today?

And my dad would say, I'm wonderful, praise the Lord.

And I'm like, What?

You weren't just wonderful to mom.

So, how?

How when you've been provoked?

How when the world, listen to me, the world is full of provokers, is it not?

It's like you probably think somebody, God, you must have created them just to provoke me.

Is that why is that what they were here for?

Everything little thing they do.

And this is penina.

This is this is what we get of her in the Bible.

This is penina to Hannah, provoking.

Now let's make it even better.

She's married to El Cana.

Now he loved her.

But I want you to see something he said.

I want you to look at verse 8.

I saved this.

Then El Cana, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep?

Right?

This is normal.

This is what a husband would do.

Why do you weep?

Why do you not eat?

And why is your heart grieved?

Am I not better to you than ten sons?

Woo! What was he thinking, man?

Now, I believe it says he loved her, but I think El Cana, at least from this little line, is a little bit pompous.

She is absolutely shattered.

And to fix it.

El Cana says, I know.

Hannah! You haven't thought about this, have you?

Am I not better to you than ten sons?

I know the answer, church.

There's another version of the Bible somewhere, and I believe it says, and Hannah said, El Cana, go take a donkey ride.

Are you better than ten sons?

Why are you crying, Hannah?

Why do you not eat, Hannah?

This is what he should have said.

And man, you need to write this one down.

This is what he needed to say.

Hannah, are you not more to me than ten sons?

She knew that El Cana loved her, and she struggled because she knew he wanted an heir, and she longed to have an heir.

He needed to say, Are you, baby, are you not more to me?

Man, put that in your pocket.

That's worth$100 of counseling.

I'm just gonna tell you right now.

That's a big one.

But she was, Hannah, what did she do?

She was bitter and she prayed.

She was in anguish and she prayed.

James 4, 4 says this is about prayer.

It says, You have not because you ask not.

And then it says, but you also have not because you ask amiss, or in other words, you're asking outside of the alignment of what God has.

That's the second part of the disciples' prayer.

He says, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

Jesus prayed at the in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as he closed the prayer, he said, Father, if you'll let this cup pass from me, let it pass not my will, but thine be done.

And look down at verse 11.

Hannah is in the process through prayer aligning.

Then she made a vow and said, Oh Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.

You see the alignment of God's will here?

She says, Oh God, if you'll give this to me, she's aligning.

I'll give him back to you.

If you will, I'll give.

If you will, I'll give.

Moms, have you dedicated your children unto the Lord?

As a part of her adoration, she shows the right spirit.

Moms, you understand this, right?

Coming in the right spirit.

Because if your children come to you in the right spirit, how much easier is it to give to them something that they need?

You want help?

Children, kids, teens, listen to me today.

Hello.

Come to mom and be sweet.

What's old saying?

Man, honey's better than vinegar.

Come to mom, sweet, when you mess up, come repentant.

Come sorrowful.

When you need help, come with kindness.

Don't make demands.

Don't be disrespectful.

How dumb, church, today, is it to mistreat your mother?

Can I get an amen?

Here's the answer.

Very, very dumb.

It's very deep, I know.

Well, Hannah comes to God and she aligns herself to God.

She gives adoration to God, who he is, and then she comes and she's ready.

She's aligning herself with his will.

And let's look at what that includes.

Hannah number two's petitions were bold.

I want you to look at verse 11 through 15.

She made this vow, Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant, remember me, not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give to him to the Lord all the days of his life.

No razor will come upon his hand.

And it happened as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli watched, and her mouth.

Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.

Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

So Eli said to her, How long will you be drunk?

Put your wine away from you.

But Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.

We'll pause there.

Letter A, Hannah's bold petitions is specific situations.

When you come to the Lord in prayer, pray specifically.

She said, specifically, would you look on me?

Would you remember me?

And would you give me a child?

Now I'm not saying that every time that you pray in this manner, that God works like a magic genie, but I know the Bible says you have not because you ask not.

And he tells us often that his button, I don't understand it, is prayer.

God can do whatever he wants, but he often works through the prayers of his people.

And so this was specific, though.

This was no, Lord, would you bless my household?

Lord, would you provide for us provision?

Lord, nothing wrong with these prayers, by the way.

Lord, we need peace.

No.

Hannah said, God, give me a child.

Actually, that's not exactly what it says.

She says, give me a male child.

I want you to turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 3 just for a second.

1 Samuel 3 · chapter mention

We'll come back.

Remember specifics.

Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli.

And the word of the Lord was rare.

Highlight that.

In those days, there was no widespread revelation.

The word of the Lord was scarce in the times of Hannah.

There was no revelation.

It was a dry time spiritually.

Times were dry, are you hearing this?

And a mama aligned herself with the Lord in a dry time.

And a mama aligned herself to the throne of God when the culture was spiritually dry.

A mother found herself on her knees.

And here, before God raises up a voice, he raises up a praying mother.

I'm going to say that again.

Before a voice is raised up, a praying mother is raised.

Hannah wanted a son, God needed a prophet.

The alignment of prayer itself, moms, the alignment of praying begins to change things in the atmosphere.

If you moms, and by the way, if I say moms, dads as well, okay, if you will just get to God, now this is a big part of the battle, if you will get to God, because a lot of us are worried about how I come to God and all the things that I've dealt with and what happened in the past, and da-da-da-da, and you don't know what I've done, and I've been away from God, and I got dry for a reason.

If you will get to God, he will begin to get your heart.

You gotta get to him.

Hannah didn't come to God happy and joyful and peaceful and worshipful.

She came bitter and angry and upset.

She is seeking to bring her longing heart under the jurisdiction of God.

A God who is wise.

A God, listen, who cannot make a mistake, who is too loving to be cruel.

The difference is many today will go through many of your days and not bring your affliction to God.

You'll not come to an altar when it's offered.

You'll not go to a prayer meeting.

You'll not have oil anointed on you when you're sick.

We'll not do what the Bible says about prayer.

We won't find a friend to pray for us.

We'll just bear it.

We'll just hold it in so we can keep our head up.

Why?

The Bible says you have not because you ask not.

Why?

The Bible says to ask, seek, and knock continually.

It does not say keep it, bury it, and walk out with it.

In James it says that the effectual, fervent prayer that avails much.

Hannah had a burden, and she battled by aligning it with God.

Aligning with the Spirit of God.

And hear this, she came out of that prayer with a double vow.

El Cana was already a Levite, and the vow that a born Levite had was this: that from age 30 to 50, no razor would touch their head.

They would not drink of any wine.

And she says, Let me align with his will.

Lord, if you give me a child, his whole life, not 30 to 50, his whole life, he'll have the vow.

He'll be yours.

I promise God, we will give him all that we have to be nurtured in your ways.

She said, Lord, give me a child, and she gritted down in prayer.

Specific prayer.

Philippians 4, 6 through 8 says, Be anxious for nothing, but by everything with prayer and supplication.

Let your requests be made known.

Requests be made known unto God.

And the peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart and life.

Specifically, let what be made known unto God?

Your requests.

Specifically.

Jabez prayed for expansion of territory, and God did it.

Gideon prayed and spread a fleece and asked God if he would show dew on that fleece, and God did it.

Hezekiah was sick unto death and prayed and asked God to relent.

God gave him 15 more years.

God did it.

Jonah prayed from inside of a great fish and he asked for deliverance and God did it.

Samson asked for God to give him strength.

One more time.

And guess what?

God did it.

Won't he do it again, church?

If you come to him in prayer, won't, Mom, won't he do it again?

Do you believe he will?

Let me give you seven just practical, specific prayers that I think should be prayed over our children.

Number one, pray for your child's salvation.

This is not assumed.

Pray that God would draw their heart to salvation at a young age.

Two, pray that a heart, they'll have a heart to respond to God.

When God prompts in their life that they'll have a heart to respond.

Number three, pray that they would find identity in Christ.

People used to ask me in youth ministry what's the biggest problem we have in youth culture, and I would say often our identity.

We don't know who we want to be.

And the things that the world tells teenagers to be are not a Christian.

Their identity in Christ.

Four, that they will not be unequally yoked.

If this is your first time to church, what I mean to say there is that they will find a mate and another believer, that they will date believers.

That's unequally yoked.

Five, that that future mate will love the Lord.

Pray that.

Pray that now.

These folks that were up here, these are important now.

Number six, that they will love God's church.

That this place would be like home to them.

And number seven, that they will work hard.

Specific.

She prayed specifically.

Let her be.

It was steadfast and strong.

Kind of a little funny portion of things happen right here.

Eli the priest takes interest on what Hannah's doing.

What does the pastor have to say in this moment?

It's kind of embarrassing.

It's sad when the man of God does not recognize the hour of prayer.

All I can say to that church is this the best of men are men at best.

This pastor looks over at her.

He sees her.

He says.

I had a friend in high school, and he got pulled over, and he was explaining the situation.

And the nicest way I could say is um Fred got a lot of F's.

Okay?

That's the nicest way I could say it.

Anyway, he got pulled over, and the cop starts walking him through a uh drug test, an alcohol test, and he says, I need you to walk this line.

And Fred's told me, and he's like, I could I couldn't walk the line.

It's like I kept, I'm like, what?

He's like, Rick, I hadn't had a single drink.

He's like, I couldn't, I just couldn't walk and stay on.

I was so nervous.

He said, he pulled out a flashlight and he told me to follow the light.

He said, I don't know how I was doing.

He said, he started going like this, and he was everywhere.

And he said, I couldn't.

He said, I'm over here.

And he said, All right.

And he said, then he asked me to tell him the alphabet starting backwards.

And he said, I couldn't get past Z.

I said, Z.

He said, and he came over to me.

He said, finally, he gave me a breathalyzer.

And he said he looked at it afterwards.

It was like, zero.

He said, he gave me a second breathalyzer.

He said, we gotta check this.

And he said, zero.

And he said, well, I guess we just need to pray for you, son.

Hannah's like, I'm not filled with spirits, but I'm filled with the spirit.

There's an important scripture in Ephesians that says, do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And it doesn't, I'm not just key on not only don't be drunk, but listen to this today, moms.

But your kids need to see what fills you.

What is it that fills you?

What they need to see is not popularity, not social standing, not money.

They need a mom and fathers.

They need a father that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

That is the thing that you live for.

Lamentations 2.19.

It says this arise, cry out in the night.

At the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.

Lift up your hands towards him for the life of your children.

Are you coming to the Lord?

Are the people around you knowing that you are a person full of this one thing that's above all things?

Hannah came steadfast and strong, filled with the Spirit.

The third point this morning is this Hannah's prayers were honest and hopeful.

Once you look at verse 15.

Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.

I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint, hear that.

She's praying from complaint and grief I have spoken until now.

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of him.

And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

I want you to look at verse 26 through 28.

And she said, Oh my Lord, as your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord.

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me the petition which I asked of him.

Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord.

As long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord.

So they worship the Lord there.

Letter A is that her prayers were soul-spilling prayers.

I'm afraid today that we have become naive to the fact that we need our souls to spill before the Lord.

I'm afraid today that we're very concerned about how we look.

We're very concerned about keeping up airs.

And she said to the priest, No, no, no, no.

Priest, I have been sorrowful.

Priest, I have been praying out of complaint and grief.

The word there is kasha, and it means grievously hard.

Like a hardened heart out of a place where she's fighting so hard, and maybe you're there today.

You're fighting really hard because you're afraid that your heart is close to hardening, a place where it feels like I'm not going to come back from this hardness.

She says, grievously hard.

Proverbs 28, 14 says, Happy is he that feareth always, but he that is hardened shall fall.

That same word, that hardened.

God tells us he can work in Scripture, and He tells us this that He can work with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

What is the opposite to that?

A proud heart.

An impenitent heart.

A heart that doesn't see what I've got.

Oh, that heart can see what others got.

But an impenitent heart.

It's a self-righteous heart.

It's an unmoved heart.

Oh, God, you can try if you want.

I believe today that being a mother may be the hardest job on planet Earth.

Being a wife is a hard job.

And when you have these hard things that take your life and your schedule, it is difficult to find a lot of time to get to a place where I can make sure that I'm soft.

And when everything's coming at me and I'm checking lists and I'm making sure that everybody's staying alive and they got this and they got that.

I've got to make sure that I've got time for this.

Because when something comes across, when something doesn't go the way that I like, my heart can become hardened.

She's soul spilling to the Lord.

You hear what she said?

I came with a complaint.

I didn't come to God to tell him, God, you are my God, I will ever praise you.

I came in a place that was low.

Have you spilled over to the Lord?

Anybody here?

I want you to consider this question.

When is the last time that in prayer tears came down your face?

When is the last time that there was a situation and you fought in prayer?

You said, God, what will you do?

God, I need you.

God.

That is Hannah.

There's an old illustration.

And anybody who's been around or lived a while has maybe experienced this.

My grandparents in Mountain City, when I'm talking about Mountain City, Tennessee, they had an old well and a pump.

So I've been around it.

I can't say that I have done this, but I've been around it and seen it.

And I've even seen that well line uh freeze up one winter.

My grandfather was doing crazy things to try to make that be fixed.

But if you've been around an old well, sometimes you know that the water will quit flowing.

And in order to get the water flowing again, the pump has to be primed before that water will rise.

So at first, they'll get out, and all you'll hear as that thing is pumped is just creaking, creaking, creaking, and you have to pump and you have to pump and you have to continue pump and you'll keep hearing creaking.

And it feels like you're just hitting a wall and nothing is happening.

But if you keep pumping, and sometimes what you have to do to give it a little help is to go get a fresh bucket of water, and you dump that fresh bucket down into the pump, and then you pump some more, and whoosh, it'll begin to flow again.

Well, that was Hannah.

Her soul was dry with sorrow and burden, and she poured out a fresh bucket before the Lord.

She poured out before God in prayer, and she got back on the pump, and spiritually, she began to pump, and that gave fresh water and new life.

Some of you today, tired.

Some of you today may be living in the driest season you can remember.

Can I tell you a word today?

Don't quit pumping.

Don't stop.

Because one more, one more prayer, one more time going to him, one more offer unto God might be the one that is a breakthrough.

One cry might bring that flow back again.

So just keep pumping.

Whoosh.

The living water may breathe new life in you again.

Well, that's Hannah.

And Hannah gets to God at the end of this chapter.

God has heard her prayer.

And I want you just to see briefly, chapter two.

We won't go through these verses, but you can read them later on.

1 Samuel chapter 2.

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

Let her be as surrendered and singing.

Oftentimes, God will do a thing, and I want to encourage you to have prayer journals.

If you're, again, specific requests have specific response.

God either says yes, no, or wait.

But it's important that you know what you've said to God so that you can afterward.

Remember, be in alignment with Him.

Afterward, there's a testimony.

Here's the testimony.

1 Samuel chapter 2, we'll read a couple of verses.

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord.

I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation.

No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none beside you.

There is no rock like our God.

From bitter, anguish, weeping, sorrowful, to this moment.

She's surrendered in singing.

Why?

God has answered her prayer.

God has given someone named Samuel.

We got a Samuel here.

I didn't know that your name meant God has heard.

How about that for an ever-living reminder?

The name Samuel, every time she looked at that boy, you know what she said?

I prayed, God has heard.

Samuel.

God has heard my prayer.

Every time she said her son's name, she said to God, Samuel, God has heard.

Samuel, come here.

God has heard.

Every time she said his name, it was another rejoicing.

Hey, God has heard.

Come here.

The power of a mother willing to align with God in prayer.

A little bit more about Samuel.

Samuel is one of the names of a couple of handfuls of prophets mentioned in Hebrews 11, which is affectionately known as the hall of faith in the Bible.

It's the Cooper's town of biblical characters.

You go there and you'll find people that are supposed to be remembered for their faith.

Samuel, the boy that was prayed for, is mentioned in the hall of faith.

You see, God needed a voice, and he raised up a mother first.

The prophet Jeremiah in his scriptures places Samuel alongside of Moses and David.

Peter and Paul and Acts mention Samuel the prophet.

Without the surrender of this godly, sweet mother in prayer.

A mother who was upset, but she was willing to go to God.

An angry, embittered mother went to God without that.

Do we have Samuel?

Now God could do it another way, but he did it this way.

A hurt, angry, grieving prayer.

But I want to tell you today, this story is not about the goodness of Hannah and her prayer.

This story is holy, church, about Hannah's good God.

And church, today he is a good, loving, and merciful Father who's looking down on you in all of your plights and mine.

And he's too loving to be cruel.

He loves you, and his grace is sufficient for your weakness, and he cares about what you've gone through in 2026 and years behind this, and the struggle as you sit here today hearing, and it's difficult for you in ways that not everybody understands.

He sees that, and you know what he wants?

He just wants you to just get in alignment with him.

Let him comfort you, let him love you, let him care.

And that's what Hannah did.

That's what it came down to.

This is not a story about Hannah being an amazing prayer.

It's about God answering ordinary, difficult, grievous prayers.

In chapter two, Hannah doesn't have a prayer answered and forget it.

She has a song on her heart.

She said, My heart rejoices.

Look at Samuel.

My heart rejoices.

She said, she didn't say, There's no prayer like my prayer.

She said, There is no God like you, God.

She didn't say, When I got all messed up, I came to you like a wall of prayer.

She said, There is no rock like you.

She finishes that section as she finishes her song, and you can find it, I think it's around verse 11, but she says, The Lord lifts up, he can raise the poor from dust and the beggar from an ash heap.

This was my plight.

And God took my heart and he filled it.

Church, that's what he wants to do for you today and for me today.

Can you bow your heads and close your eyes this morning?

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