Bible Soap

Scripture:

 1 Samuel 1:19-20

Early the next morning they arose and worshipped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

 Observation:

 The phrase “and the LORD remembered him / her / them” occurs several times in Scripture, and I particularly love it here. It is not supposed to indicate that God had forgotten Hannah and was suddenly reminded – not really possible for an all-knowing God. The way I like to ‘translate’ it is something like “God decided to bless him / her / them” – and it tends to happen after that person or people have spent time pouring their heart out to God in prayer or worship. I love Hannah’s story as a whole – her selflessness, her boldness, and the way God blessed her – but this verse particularly stood out to me today.

 Application:

 I’ve been reading Bill Hybels’ book “Too Busy Not To Pray” recently, which has convicted me about how I pray, and reading this today has reinforced this. I don’t pray fervently or for extended periods of time; I get very distracted and though I might say something to God each day, it never feels like it’s anything very meaningful. But I want to be in the position Hannah finds herself in here, where she can see concrete results from her prayer – the existence of her son Samuel is direct proof that God heard and listened to her prayer. Guess I need to follow her example and pour my heart out to God a bit more.

 Prayer:

 Lord, please help me revitalise my prayer life over the next few weeks and months. Please don’t let me fall into the trap of starting unsustainable habits for the sake of it, but lead me to a place where I can make realistic changes to my prayer life, that bring me closer to you and your presence.