The following are nine important lessons we can learn from the story of Hannah, as recorded in the book of 1st first Samuel chapters one and two.
- God can close the womb of a woman, thus preventing her from conceiving (1 Samuel 1:5).
- We should learn to comfort and not condemn those who are going through a difficult time in their lives (1 Samuel 1:6).
- Provocations may push someone to do all that he or she can to get out of his or her barren situation.
- We should strive to clearly understand the challenges others are going through before prescribing solutions for them (1 Samuel 1:4; 1 Samuel 1:8).
- Hannah teaches us how to pray right (1 Samuel 1:9–11).
- Hannah engaged the servant of God at Shiloh during her petition (1 Samuel 12–17).
- Hannah acted on her faith (1 Samuel 1:19).
- Hannah made a vow to God and fulfilled the same by lending Samuel to the LORD (1 Samuel 1:24–28).
- After fulfilling her vow, God further blessed Hannah with three sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:21).
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Let us discuss the points identified above in detail.
1. God can close the womb of a woman, thus preventing her from conceiving.
One important lesson we learn from the story of Hannah is that God can actually close a woman’s womb and thereby prevent her from having children.
This happens for reasons only known to Him, and there is nothing that man can do about it.
This affirms the scripture that says children are an inheritance from God and that the fruit of the womb is a reward from Him (Psalm 127:3).
The Bible has examples of women who were unable to conceive for a time, but later on, God opened their wombs, enabling them to conceive and bring forth children. These include Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, the Shunamite woman, and Elizabeth (John the Baptist’s mother).
This explains why a couple may not be able to get children, yet according to medical reports, both the man and the woman have no fertility problems. In such situations, it only means that God is the one responsible for their lack of children and is thus the only one who can resolve this state of affairs.
Bareness is not only restricted to childlessness but can also be found in other areas of our lives, including an unsuccessful search for a job or an unprofitable venture, among others.
The good news for the believer is that, for every barren situation in your life, God always has the final say. At His appointed time, He usually shows up and turns things around in our favor.
2. We should learn to comfort and not condemn those who are going through a difficult time in their lives.
In the book of 1 Samuel 1:6-7, the Bible tells us that Hannah became very miserable to the extent of not being able to eat because of her bareness.
Hannah’s co-wife, Peninnah, made matters worse for her through constant taunting and provocations.
As a co-wife to Hannah, the best thing Peninnah should have done would have been to offer moral support and comfort to Hannah.
3. Provocations may push someone to do all that he or she can to get out of bareness.
Due to constant provocations by Peninnah, Hannah sought the LORD even more in order to be delivered from her bareness.
The Bible tells us that Hannah’s bareness caused her great grief and misery, so much so that she could not even bring herself to eat (1 Samuel 1:7).
At the appointed time, God answered Hannah’s prayer and opened her womb.
This teaches us that when faced with barren or stubborn situations, the provocations we get from people should act as a catalyst that drives us to seek God even more.
4. We should strive to clearly understand the challenges others are going through before prescribing solutions for them.
The story of Hannah also teaches us that there are people who will wrongly diagnose the challenges we are going through and even go ahead to prescribe solutions that will ultimately not work.
A good example is Hannah’s husband, Elkannah. This man did not seem to fully understand the misery that his wife was undergoing because of her bareness. That is why we see him suggesting to Hannah that he was better than ten sons. But Hannah could hear none of it (Samuel 1:8).
This teaches that we should never settle for anything less than having our barren or stubborn situations completely dealt with and solved by God.
5. Hannah teaches us how to pray correctly.
Another lesson we get from the story of Hannah is how to make our petitions to God in prayer (1 Samuel 1:9–11).
The Bible tells us that Hannah prayed to God in anguish of heart, bitterness of soul, grief, and tears. This points to deep-end prayers made by a broken and contrite heart.
In Psalm 51:17, the Bible teaches us that God answers prayers that come from a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Similar sentiments are echoed in Psalm 147:3, which tells us that God heals those whose hearts are broken and binds up their wounds.
So Hannah’s prayer was answered because it came from a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Another thing we learn from Hannah about prayer is that we should be specific whenever we pray.
Hannah petitioned God for a male child, and that is what God gave her (1 Samuel 1:11).
In addition, we see Hannah making a vow to God in her prayer. She promised to lend God the male child that He would give her. That is how Samuel came to serve in the house of God at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:24–28).
This teaches us that it is okay to make pledges to God when we pray, as long as we are keen on keeping our side of the bargain. Otherwise, it is better not to pledge because the consequences of pledging and not fulfilling the same are very grave (Ecclesiastes 5:4–7).
6. Hannah engaged the servant of God at Shiloh during her petition.
The Bible tells us that Hannah made her situation known to Eli, who served as the chief priest, in God’s tabernacle at Shiloh (1 Samuel 12–17).
In fact, Eli agreed with Hannah’s petition to God. This is what is called a prayer of agreement.
In the book of Matthew 18:19–20, Jesus Christ taught His disciples two fundamental things about the fellowship of the brethren.
Firstly, wherever two or three of them would be gathered in His name, He would be there in their midst.
Secondly, whatever they would agree on here on earth, it would be done for them by God.
This is the principle that Hannah activated when she joined Eli in her petition for a child.
7. Hannah acted on her faith.
Having prayed to God and believed that she had been heard, the Bible tells us that Elkanah knew Hannah, and she conceived and bore a son (1 Samuel 1:19).
Having prayed to God, Hannah had to take the next step of sleeping with her husband so as to get pregnant. Failure to do that would mean that no conception would have taken place.
This is what it means to combine faith with works.
The Bible teaches that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Therefore, Christians are urged to always mix their faith with action if they are to receive answers to their prayers.
8. Hannah made a vow to God and fulfilled the same by lending Samuel to the LORD.
Hannah teaches us a very important lesson about vows, namely, fulfilling the vows we make to God (1 Samuel 1:24–28).
In her prayer, Hannah promised that she would lend to God the child that He would give her for service in His tabernacle.
We see her fulfill this vow when she brought the child Samuel to Eli for dedication during her next visit to the house of God at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:24–28).
9. After fulfilling her vow, God further blessed Hannah with three sons and two daughters.
The last thing we learn from the story of Hannah is that when you keep your promise by fulfilling the vow you make to God, He blesses you even more.
This is what we learn from 1 Samuel 2:21, which tells us that after lending Samuel to the LORD, God blessed Hannah with three more sons and two daughters.
This means that a woman who was previously barren became the mother of six children!
This teaches us that God is faithful to all those who serve Him with a true and honest heart.
Jesus Christ taught that God seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is the kind of person whose prayers God will always answer (John 4:23–24).
Conclusion
This article discussed nine important lessons that we can learn from the story of Hannah in the Bible. These lessons include the following: at times, God is responsible for the bareness that man experiences in life; it is important to comfort and not condemn or ridicule those experiencing barren situations in their lives; provocations experienced during barrenness may actually be the trigger to get someone out of their barren situation; we should properly diagnose barren situations in the lives of fellow brethren and craft workable solutions for the same instead of jumping into prescriptions that do not work; We should follow Hannah’s prayer model to get answers to our own prayers; we should engage the servant of God when petitioning God for a particular matter; we should learn to pay the vows made to God during prayer; and God’s blessings rest upon all who pay the vows made to Him during prayer. I hope this was helpful. God bless you.
Related Post: Bible verse teaching about faith
Also Read: Why God allows trials in our lives
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Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/
My name is Nicodemus. I'm a Kenyan by birth. I got saved over 30 years ago while in high school.
I love studying scriptures in order to enhance my comprehension of God and His plan for mankind.
I have an MBA degree in strategic management and a BSc degree in botany and zoology.
I’m married to a loving lady called Leah. God has gifted us three sons: Wayne, Salem, and Michael.
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