Day 18 | Hannah

Read 1 Samuel 1:1-28

Hannah was despondent. She had remained childless for so long that her husband’s other wife had given birth to several sons and daughters. Though her husband was good to her, Hannah was determined to become a mother herself. When the family traveled for their yearly pilgrimage to make sacrifices in the holy town of Shiloh, Hannah begged God through fervent, silent prayer to give her a son. If the Lord delivered, she promised to give the child back to God.

God was faithful, and Hannah bore a son. She named him Samuel because it means requested of God. When Samuel was three years old, she brought him to the priest to begin his service to the Lord. Samuel would devote himself to listening and obeying God from an early age, and Hannah would visit and bring him a new robe as he grew.

At first glance, it would seem that Hannah came out on the losing side of her bargain with God. She had pleaded with the Lord to help her conceive, and though she was granted her ultimate desire, Hannah was compelled to relinquish her toddler and allow him to be raised by Eli, the priest. According to the arrangement, Hannah had her precious child in her arms for only three short years. But Hannah knew what many of us so often forget—all of what we have belongs to God, both before it was given to us and long after we received it. 1 Chronicles 29:14 tells us, “For everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand.” If we begin from a place of devoting all we have to God, then we can hold people and possessions with a looser grasp, avoiding the distractions of a worldly attitude that shouts “Mine!” and replace it with a gentle voice whispering “His.”

Pray for 10 minutes