The Faith of Hannah: Prayer and Intercession

This week's scripture reading is from 1st Samuel.

1 time after eating and drinking and Shiloh and I got up and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest the sitting in the chair by the door post of the Lord's Temple.

And it was very upset and couldn't stop crying. I should pray to the Lord.

Then she made this promise. Lord of heavenly forces just look at your servant Spain and remember me. Don't forget your server. Give her a boy. Then I'll give him to the Lord for his entire life. No razor will ever touch a cat.

They got up early the next morning and Worship the Lord. Then they went back home, Econo had sex with his wife and Hannah and the Lord remembered

Through the course of time and a conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, which means I asked the Lord.

then Hannah prayed my heart rejoices in the Lord my strength Rises up in the Lord my mouth moth my enemy because I Rejoice rejoice and your deliverance. No one is holy like the Lord. No, no one except you. There is no Rock like our God. Don't go on and on talking so proudly spouting arrogance from the mouth because the Lord is the god, who knows and he weighed Every Act. The both of Mighty Warrior the shattered, but those who are stumbling now dressed himself in Tower. Those who are filled full now sell themselves for bread, but the ones were starving are now fat from food. The woman who is Darren has birth seven children, but the mother with Minnie son has lost them all. The Lord he brings death gives life takes down to the grave and races up. The lure you make Spore gives well brings low but also lift up high

Dog breeds of the poor from the dust messed up the Nene in the garbage pile God Stitch with officials. Give them the seat of Honor The Pillars of the Earth Belongs to the Lord. He set the world on top of him.

God guards the feet of his faithful ones with the wicked die in darkness because no one succeeds by strength, LOL. The Lord is enemies are terrified God Thunder that against them from Heaven the Lord. He judges the Far Corners of the earth. May God give strength to his King and raise High the strength to the anointed one.

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Kung Fu 1st Samuel it has to do with Hannah Hannah and her prayer

look back on my life. I remember many cases of very important times when I prayed but I think one of the most important was when I was camping with the Boy Scout I Was A Boy Scout, but in the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school. I went to Philmont Scout camp. And I hiked for 90 miles for two weeks while I was out there. I had a Moment of clarity a moment of faith. I was sitting out on this large Boulder looking out over a valley and there was no one around and it began to rain. I was about maybe 5 or 10 minutes walk from the campsite for all of my friends. I sat in the rain and I spoke to God. I got angry, but all of the things that I was angry about my life I give thanks for all of the things that I was think for 4.

I begged for intercession. I begged for God to intervene in my life to change things for the better and to give me wisdom.

This kind of prayer is the most honest the most original the deepest way that we communicate with God. We hear it throughout the Bible. You hear it in the Old Testament and the new we hear how the prophet and men and women of the Old Testament spoke to God. We hear how Jesus disciples spoke to God.

You're over and over again to continue to pray pray pray.

In your dreams tell divaso the prayer. It's no good by itself if it's not followed up by action.

When did you? Earnestly to God, when have you prayed earnestly when have you? Really? In the lowest of your load needed God. Spoken word God in the highest of your high have you giving thanks and praise to God.

how many people I think you seen But the strange thing because a strange thing that people walking to the Christians do and they wonder about it or not even anything but when you I was a young child. I remember praying even before I attended church before I really knew nothing about God. I think he comes to us as the most natural. the most basic of in infants because very important

Irene's day we hear about the prayer of Hannah

You know last last week's lesson we heard Moses we hear about the Israelites in the desert. After that, they they travel for 40 years in the desert. Before they're finally able to enter the promised land and they and Moses dies before they enter the Moses pick Joshua in charge and Joshua go to the promised land defeat all the people there against the fellow. And then there's a few more books in the Toyota by the books of the law.

And then we end up in first Samuel. Action rooster spur and if you have a red roof roof is my daughter's favorite book of the Bible story tell me if you can just go on in a highly suggested routes of important because it really is one of Jesus's ancestor, but we come to 1st Samuel 1st, Samuel and 2nd Samuel and 1st Kings and 2nd King. I used to be one book are there are often grouped together as best Oracle books the first we have to go to the wall and then we have the books of History. And the Beast for books together tell the story of Judah Southern Kingdom.

First through the app is named after at this time in the history of the weather looking like they're they're settling in Canaan in the land that God promised to them and they're trying to figure out how to live together and how to how to be a community that happen to this point. They've been they've been led by by religious leaders by judges and the problem they have is now they're being deceived by various peoples and they need to feel like they need a a king to rule over them and so Samuel I hear that again and whose mother was here praying in the in cursive Samuel would become the last kind of great judge of Israel and he will anoint a king for fall and then David and of course David is the great king of the Jewish story of the king of the United all of us are going to the United Kingdom and then David's son Solomon that continues from there and then we have the kingdom breaking the two pieces after that the northern kingdom and the southern Kingdom.

So this book for Samuel is the account house Daniel Comes to be possible becomes a great judge and how he performs a lemon demon as a king of Israel. Via and I talked before about how exit Genesis and exodus. We're very much kind of in the realm of myth in this narrative. And now we really get into Legend we get it we get into into books that are getting as much more detail about people it's it's much more likely that these were real people who existed who lived in in the area one thing that that the story of the not really sure about is If there really was a large unified Kingdom of Israel, but under the little David David was breaking up on me just on Tribal Chieftain or something, but that's not really important because the story is in about the Jewish people about where they come from but in so now we're really into any kind of that the realm of legend or oral history and so from here on in the book.

Kingdom Wars that that are backed up by evidence from other archaeological site other kingdoms of this time until it finally hear about the Exile in Babylon, which of course is it isn't completely historical event. We have lots of lots of proof outside of the vehicle text about that event. So it is Carnation distance of the time when it can be kind of be kind of trade between legendary and history. But all of that is yet to come.

At this point in the story what we have and we have this woman. Hanna and Hanna is

Hannah is the wife of a man named. Elkanah and Hannah have two wives. He has Hannah and his other wife. Whose name. I honestly don't know. My guess is Nina. Indianapolis, I'm not sure but his other wife though, we're told that I'll kind of married Hannah for love, but Hannah has not been able to give upon any children. He said I'll kind of awesome Mary peanut to give him children and he's going to have had several children. And I'm kind of really treats Hannah unfairly because he when he was a very religious man when he goes to to get offering he after you've been given the burnt offering any of the weather. David Bryant and some of it is kept by the priests and the remainder is eaten by that but the family is around the temple. And so in that instance, he gives out the meat in according to how many children there are and so and so I was going to get to the short end of the stick. It's a finely she's just completely fed up. She's absolutely fed up. And so she goes to the temple and this is before the building of the temple in Jerusalem that Solomon Temple that Solomon built with the boy who thinks before that but they're the temple in Shiloh, which at this point is where the Ark of the Covenant a box by The Ten Commandments and various other things from your lifetime in the in the time I gathered that was Kurt was one of the things that was described and my God to Moses on Mount Sinai and so are they build this box in the end? They got it at this point that it's supposed to be in Shiloh. This is one of the main the main altar to to not way to get to the the Hebrew. At this point. Until she goes and this is this is a really are only example in the Old Testament about a woman going by herself. To the temple to pray directly to God at the temple, So you is this is the only example we have every woman know she was she was very a very strong woman. very faithful because she goes in and she just she just Give her heart to God, she just expressing her deepest feelings and thoughts to God and and we didn't see it in our reading but I buy who is head of that the head priest at the temple is sitting in the spot. He would normally sitting at in the temple and he or he sees her praying but she's not speaking hurt. Her lips are moving, but she's not saying anything because she's so wrapped up in what you kids are doing and he thinks she must be drunk and so he told her you know, you better stop drinking and she's like no, I'm not drunk. I'm just really deep in prayer because I was in that case and whatever you've prayed for him to come true. so she goes home and then and then she they want to become clear to her son and the prayer she gives is I Is so honest night Lord of heavenly forces just look at your servant pain and remember me. Don't forget your feelings. Give her a boy. Then I'll give him to the Lord for his entire life. No reason will ever touch attack. She lives in a very patriarchal society. She needs a boy. Not just a child with a boy. so She prayed for a boy that you said no to give me a boy. Then she thinks to herself and then I will be redeemed because because if you are unable to have children with seeing as somehow is God having fun not having fever on you that you were done something wrong. Why you not having children to have a boy or prove that God Favored her and so she doesn't even how to keep the one she said you know it if you give me a boy. I will give the boy to the Lord I will I will be it will make him an answer me no, no reason will ever touch his head. There was a good idea in the Old Testament that if you never shave your body hair and change your hair. That that you would that you are especially devout. And so she said she said listen. Kind of most impressively she she lived up to you and and goes through with her promise. So when God gives her a son she keeps the sun until the sun is weed. So probably three or four years and then she then she takes the child back to Eli at the temple and and gives him to trade at the priests in the temple and then her and her husband return every year after that when they don't forget piano Festival, they go up inmate the talk with your son and they bring him a gift out of clothing every year. So she's not she's not like like getting rid of him and abandon again. She's putting him in the service of God Temple and then she Spalding up continuously to make sure everything's okay. And then after that she had other children she have more assigned and daughter. Is this part happy?

And then in the second chapter fan of your after she gives Samuel to Eli we have this prayer is very long prayer my heart with joy Susan the Lord my strength right up in the Lord my mouth mocked my enemy because I rejoice in your delivery and so on and so forth. This prayer is almost certainly a later addition for one thing it speaks of kings and things didn't go onto after the entire book was written down but whether or not you said that prayer it is kind of important in the point of it is placed in here as of kind of a general prayer of Thanksgiving prayer of intercession prayer to God. It's very similar in style and and everything else off that we could very easily be at the house instead of his new testament was called The Magnificat which is the prayer of Mary Mary kids and then when she find out that she's pregnant. For the baby is born so we have this time for dish in these B. prayer long prayers to God So that's the next attack. So I think that's the most important thing you can get out of this text is not the stuff about dinner is good to know about the story and what we're going to read in our next week when we leave it more about Samuel and David and

What'll happen to her but the important part in your focus on this week. It's on prayer and especially on the idea that God hears the prayers of everyone. You know as there are many in the Christian Community he wants to say that only certain people they got on here.

Only those gorgeous only those who are devout only those who prey in particular ways only those who follow a particular prayer. But that's not what the text although and in fact text till just the opposite sex tells us that God hears the prayers of everyone.

God loves all of them. God loves those who are Christian God loves those who are not Christians God loves all of us God's children and God listens to our prayers. Sometimes. Our prayers are answered in ways that we don't expect sometimes are we pray for miraculous healing we pray for for amazing things to happen. If you don't come to pass and you feel wounded you feel like we've been abandoned like we've been cast aside we somehow must not be worthy of God's love but that that's not true.

Why are you the way for us? to share our deepest thought I think it's the motion for God. It's also a way for us to meditate for ourselves on what those are. extemporaneous prayer the Were you just pray whatever is in your heart kind of did? is a wonderful spiritual practice to get into and it doesn't have to be out loud. In fact, Jesus tells us that rather than pray loudly on the street corner where all can hear it's much better to pray quietly in our closets to ourselves. The God can hear us quietly. So you don't need to pray out loud. You can be proud of yourself.

Take a few minutes in the morning when you get up maybe to say a prayer. One of my favorite TV shows is a TV about about Ministry. Anyway, is the TV show called The Rev made by the BBC about a minister in London, and it shows a lot of it. It's a very interesting show and the first season was really good in the second season, there are okay, but what I loved about it is it it shows the reality of ministry in a lot of places and One of the things that happened every every episode is it that week? What kind of pan in on on the the Reverend praying and then we realize that he's sitting on the toilet in the morning after getting up praying praying to God, but I mean the location of the prayer is not really important important part of it. You open your heart that you focus on on what you need and what you're thankful for.

Prayers of thanks prayers of intercession. We ask God to intercede in our lives to free us from oppression or from pain from bad circumstances

prayers of wonder these are all great things to offer up too. We should feel like we can do that whenever we want where you are doesn't matter. are the Buddhist tradition they have Sitting meditation, but they also have walking meditation and working meditation meditating while you clean your dishes and Prayers the same way you can get a prayer while you clean your dishes. You can get a prayer while you're driving to work while riding the train you can give a prayer when you get up in the morning or right before you go to bed getting in the habit of praying and regular basis. I found it to be like that and there are ways we can integrate prayer in our life and you are through.

Patterns of prayer like bug with the quality of life really matters is just said you open your heart to God and speak your mind. You know, if you're angry at God be angry God there's nothing wrong with that. There's lots of example in the in the text of people who were very angry if you said so. And if you're thankful be thankful.

So with that in mind. Let's pray for me.

Bob we are grateful for all that you do for us all together. This time in our world is so challenging so difficult so different from times. Did anyone alive experience? Watch over us. Hold on to your love. Let us know that we are loved I do you buy those round up even when you feel like you may not be.

God look out for those who are ill pick out for those who travel those who were late those must continue to work and do things to keep our society moving even those dangerous.

Artemis time and nationalism is time difficult political division. How fast is speed? North Face 50 God in our neighbor in our enemies in those with whom we argue so that we remember that we are all children.

And yet don't let that.

Now our righteous anger at the oppression. Better than olive oil healthy. Evil little thing. I will let us speak truth to power while still maintaining holding. The fact that we are all children of God.

I'll keep us safe. Look out for our loved ones.

Play all of that in the name of your son A Savior Jesus Christ.