Sometimes we must experience the hurts of life without benefit of sympathetic counselors or understanding friends. Like Hannah, we must sometimes fight our struggle alone. Yet not really alone, for God is always a prayer away.
Selections from 1 Samuel 1:10-17 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. Making a vow, she pleaded, "Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant's affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.". . . Although her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk. . . . "Oh no, my lord," Hannah replied. . . . "I've been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.". . .
Eli responded, "Go in peace and may the God of Israel grant the petition that you've requested from Him."
Look At It This Way
Never dream without prayer. When we talk to others about the dreams in our lives, we often get blind stares of disinterested discouragement - roadblocks, rejection. But when we take our dreams to God, we begin an adventurous journey of faith. It may mean being broken along the way, but only to let our dream escape. It may mean going through seasons of searching, but only to determine how much of our dream is selfish - and to prove how badly we really want God's way. Prayer keeps holy dreams alive.
Hannah was tested. Her rival-as-wife, Peninnah, taunted her relentlessly. Hannah was further upset each time she went to the temple at Shiloh. There, in the midst of families going to offer their worship and their sacrifices, she felt all alone without a child.
When his two wives were at each other's throats, Elkanah would try to smooth things over by asking, "Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" What she needed and longed to hear from him was that she meant more to him than ten sons. God was using everyone in this woman's life to test her.
We are tested so our character will match our dreams. Christian character is a work in progress for us as believers. When God gives us a dream, we may need a lot of work on and in our lives to enable us to handle the dream. Our sufficiency and strength should always be in God - and God alone. As with Hannah, it usually is a pretty good clue that the test or the dream is from God when things don't work out easily. The greater the dream, the greater the testing.
- Jim Henry
Final Thought
Do you have a dream that feels like it's dying in your life? Don't give up. Take it to God in prayer today. And trust Him to do more with your dream than you could ever do yourself.
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