1 Samuel 1:10-12 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth.

Hannah wept and did not eat because she was despised by her rival because she was not able to conceive. The Bible says this happened year after year (1 Samuel 1:6-7 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.)

As Hannah was in bitterness of soul, she prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. She poured out her soul before the Lord saying, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

Hannah said, “Remember me and do not forget me!”. The Lord remembered her and gave her a male child, Samuel, who became the first prophet in Israel. God saw her every tear in prayer and answered and gave the desires of her heart. When we come to God in prayer, He will also answer our prayers.

1 Samuel 1:19-20 19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

(Contributed by Regina Ebenezer – church worker)

Read The Bible In One Year

Morning 1 Corinthians 15: 1-28

Evening Psalm 146-147