STXWM Blog

Are you a woman of prayer? This may seem like a loaded question, but this is something I’ve been asking myself lately. I used to keep a prayer journal with me and write in it every night before bed. I would pour my heart, soul and sometimes tears into those pages. After writing out my prayers, I would begin to bring my requests vocally to the Lord. I would pray about my marriage (as a young newlywed), ministry, jobs, future children, and for God’s will, not my own. These prayers would help shape my relationship with him. I’d catch myself looking through previous pages to see what God had answered. However, my days of writing down my prayers seem like a distant memory now. I haven’t written in a journal for years, or at least not consistently.

I remember one time when I prayed from a place of bitterness. I know I shouldn’t have, but I was deeply hurt. I sobbed and begged on my knees before the Lord, asking Him to take away my desire to want children. I longed to be a mother and watched each of my friends get what I wanted. But the Lord graciously did not grant my request. I continued to long for a child, and I’m thankful for that.

There was a woman in the Bible, by the name of Hannah, and she too longed to have a child. Her husband, Elkanah, had another wife who had children. But that didn’t matter to Elkanah, because he loved Hannah (1 Samuel 1). He would say to her:

1 Samuel 1:8- “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

When Hannah couldn’t have children, the other wife would tease and ridicule her. But Hannah was strong because she knew who was on her side.

One day when they were at the temple to pray, she began to pour out her heart, soul, and tears before the Lord. She so desperately wanted to be a mother. But she wasn’t asking the Lord to take that desire away. She was asking him for a son; only, she couldn’t speak. She continued to pray in her heart; her lips were moving but no sound would come out. Eli the priest had observed this weird behavior and assumed she was drunk.

1 Samuel 1:14-17

“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.

In Hannah’s case, God had allowed her to be barren. We’re not given a reason as to why, but I believe it was to glorify him and to prepare her for the blessing that was coming.

Isaiah 40:31- “… but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Afterwards, Hannah went home and laid with her husband. The Lord remembered her and she became pregnant with a son. She named him Samuel, meaning, “Because I asked the Lord for him” (1 Sam. 19-20).

We can learn from Hannah that our prayers can be quiet, consistent, and strong. Despite the ridicule and grief she had been given, she stayed strong. She became a woman of prayer and praise. She didn’t let her circumstances get in the way of her relationship with God.

In Hannah’s gratitude, she dedicated Samuel to the Lord. When he was 3 years old, he went to live with the priest Eli in the temple. Instead of being sad about leaving her son behind, Hannah prays once again. She begins to praise God for his goodness (1 Sam. 11 & 24; 2 Sam. 1-11).

Trials teach us to lean more fully on the Lord and to appreciate the everyday blessings around us, like a simple cup of coffee, or a child’s laugher or hug. These are the things we tend to take for granted. It’s not until we’ve experienced something hard that we finally realize what really matters. This is what Hannah found.

After she had brought her request to the Lord she had peace. She ate, she was happy, and she spent time with her husband. She trusted that the Lord was going to come through for her. And he did! She didn’t regret her promise to God, because she knew that he belonged to the Lord. But it wasn’t goodbye forever. She would visit him every year when her and her husband would pray at the temple. She would even bring him a homemade robe every year (2 Sam.19).

You may find yourself waiting. Whether you’re waiting for a new job, a new place to live, a future spouse or even a child. No matter what it is, trust in God’s timing. Don’t allow bitterness or disappointment to dictate your prayers. Make your prayers strong and be confident in what you ask. God continued to show his faithfulness to Hannah by blessing her with more children, and he continues to bless my family the same way. He hears our prayers. Let’s all strive to be like Hannah and be women of prayer.

1 John 5:14- This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

By: Melinda B.