This afternoon, I was reading 1 Samuel 1 which tells the story of a woman named Hannah who prays to the Lord for a son and the Lord hears her prayer and she gives birth to a boy named Samuel. It's a story that I am altogether too familiar with. My Sunday school teachers used it ever so often to show us how God answers prayer. Many preachers have preached sermons on it and yet today I learned something new from this passage.
For years, Hannah was barren and she desperately wanted a son. It didn't matter to Hannah that her husband loved her more than his other wife or that he gave her a double portion (vs 5), Hannah still wanted a son.
So she went before God and wept and prayed "much" (vs 10). And then, she made a vow to God to dedicate her child to Him for all the days of his life (vs 11). She knew how difficult keeping that promise would be but she didn't care because that's how much she wanted a son. And God had mercy on Hannah and answered her.
Sometimes, when we ask God for something and He doesn't do it soon enough, we assume it's not His will. In Hannah's case, God himself had closed her womb (vs 5 and 6). We don't know the reason God did that, but He did.
To me it seems that may be, Hannah's heart was so set on having a son that her son would have taken up all her attention and she wouldn't have time to seek God.
In Exodus 20:5 a, God says, "You shall not bow down to them (idols) or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God." God will not give you something that will take His place ie the first place in your heart. That's probably why God answered Hannah's prayer only after she vowed to give her son back to Him.
Hannah's prayer was sincere and God knew that she would keep the promise she made to Him. That's why God answered. That's why He changed His mind!
Are you wondering if God can do that in your situation? Yes, He can and He will. After all, the Bible does say, The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). But God also looks at your heart. Is your heart set on that thing so much so that it will turn you away from Him?
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