This is the manuscript of the Mother's Day sermon at Christ Church May 14, 2023.
Hannah prayed for a son and God answered her prayer.
1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
The lesson Hannah has for all of us, is the nature of her prayer to God. All of us can learn from it, whether you are a mother or not.
Pray persistently
Pray purposely
Pray positively
Scripture
1 Samuel 1:9-16 NIV Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “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. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
Text:
1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
Introduction
Happy Mother’s Day! A little quick history about Mother’s Day.
The roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century, before the Civil War, where Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.
The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis.
Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908, she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.
Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood. By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. In the United States, Mother’s Day has become one of our biggest holidays.
It has been said and I believe that it is true that the three biggest days of church attendance are Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.
As a dad I have limited insight into what it means to be a mother, but I am fortunate to have had a very excellent example of the best of motherhood in my own mother and the mother of my children both of whom recently went to be with the Lord. Although I wasn't with my children's mom, we divorced when they were still young, she did a fantastic job with them, and I am eternally grateful for that.
As I thought about a sermon for today, I came across the story of a mother with a message for everyone. The story and the sermon are about The Prayer of Hannah.
The Story of Hannah
The story of Hannah is in the first chapter of 1 Samuel. I urge you to read the entire book of First Samuel for Hannah’s story and to learn something about Samuel, the son she prayed for.
Hannah was a mother who didn’t get married and started having kids. Like a lot of women Hannah knew the heartache of not being able to conceive. The scriptures say that the Lord had closed her womb. It doesn’t say why it just says that the Lord had closed her womb. Plus, she had a rival in another wife of her husband who tormented her because of her lack of children.
1 Samuel 1:6 NIV Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
The lesson Hannah has for all of us, and what we are going to focus on today, is the nature of her prayer to God. I want to focus All of us can learn from it, whether you are a mother or not.
There are at least three principles I want us to look at and put into practice from Hannah’s prayer. We’ve talked about them before, but they are worth repeating.
Pray persistently
Pray purposely
Pray positively
I. First Pray Persistently
A. Hannah prayed for a son.
1 Samuel 1:11 NIV And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
Hannah made up her mind and purposed in her heart to earnestly ask the Lord to give her a son. She was not going to be discouraged and stop. Not even in the face of the encouragement from a husband who loved her and saw her pain and expressed his love for her.
1 Samuel 1:4-5 NIV Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.
1 Samuel 1:8 NIV Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
She persisted even in the face of persecution and ridicule. Her rival Elkanah’s other wife Peninnah was merciless in her ridicule and taunting.
1 Samuel 1:7 NIV This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
She persisted in prayer even in face of the high priest, who thought she was drunk.
1 Samuel 1:12-16 NIV As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “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. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
When Eli realized that she was not drunk and he saw her pouring out her heart to God, he blessed her and expressed his hope that her request would be granted.
1 Samuel 1:17 NIV Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
Hannah was persistent just like the widow in Jesus’ parable in
Luke 18:1-8 NIV Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Hannah did what Paul told the Christians in Thessalonica to do
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Hannah's lesson to all of us today, is to pray persistently.
Hannah was convinced that God was capable of opening her womb, and to use her son to His glory, and He did.
1 Samuel 1:19-20 NIV Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
When you read the story of Samuel’s life in 1 Samuel you will see that he went on to become the last judge of Israel. The Judges were the leaders of Israel before the kings. Samuel anointed the first two kings of Israel; he anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel.
The Bible says that if we pray according to the will of God, He hears, and He grants what we have asked for.
1 John 5:14-15 NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
The message for us today is like Hannah: we should pray with persistent intent.
Second…
II. Like Hannah We Should Pray with a specific purpose
Hannah didn’t just pray for a son but for a son who would grow up to be a servant of God and she promised to give him over to the service of the temple after he was weaned.
1 Samuel 1:11 NIV And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
Let’s stop there for just a moment. She prayed for this son, and then gave him over when he was weaned, probably when he was two or three years old.
I’m not a mother but I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for Hannah to do that, after praying for him for so long, rejoicing when God answered her prayer, and after nursing and nurturing him she did what she said she would do in her prayer.
1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28 NIV So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my Lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Hannah could have prayed, “Give me a son, so I can be happy.” “Give me a son so my husband will be happy.” “Give me a son so I can shut up that other woman.” or “Just give me a son.”
But she went way beyond that. She knew what she wanted. She wanted a son that would be dedicated to the temple and service to God and prayed purposefully for it.
1 Samuel 1:11 NIV And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
Here’s the lesson for us. There is no reason for us to be vague, or unclear in our prayers. I know that sometimes we get a burden, and we don’t know what’s going on. Or we are facing a situation and we don’t know how to specifically pray for it. That’s okay, because when that happens, we have a helper sent from God:
Romans 8:26-27 NIV In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
But when we know what we want and we know that it is in God’s will for us, don't be vague about it be upfront with God. There’s no reason to be vague. Be persistent and purposeful when you pray.
Next…
III. Pray Positively
Hannah’s attitude was one of positive expectancy.
She knew that God was capable of bringing her request to fruition, so she prayed expecting Him to do it. God has given us many great and precious promises in His Word, that we can claim and expect God to fulfill in our lives. And while Hannah is not claiming a promise of God from Scripture, we can learn from her attitude.
1 John 5:13-15 NIV I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
Philippians 4:6 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Hebrews 13:5 NIV Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
That’s just three promises According to one account, there are 3573 promises in the Bible. There is another person that says there are 7,487 promises that God made to mankind. I don’t know who all is right I know is that there are a lot of them. Find the one that fits your situation and when you pray with persistence, purpose, and positivity claim that promise.
Pray like you know that God can do it. Expect Him to keep His Word.
Matthew 7:7-10 NIV “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
Now remember, God doesn’t promise to always answer our prayers the way we want, but He does promise to answer. Pray with the idea that the all-powerful God is listening, hears your heart, and is willing to act on your behalf, just as He did in the case of Hannah.
Conclusion
I mentioned before that while this is Mother’s Day, and that while we were looking at the prayer of a mother, the principles would be universal. We can all pray persistently, purposely, and positively. Now that’s something to consider, whether you are a mother, father, uncle, aunt, or whatever. So, pray faithfully and biblically, but pray boldly. You may just find yourself experiencing the Spirit’s power in a magnificent way.
Pray persistently. Pray purposely. Pray positively.
Prayer
Father God, our Promise-Keeper, You are the Alpha and the Omega. You were. You are. You are to come. We give thanks to You, our God. Although we are often tempted to complain, when we look around and see the multitude of blessings that You have lavished on us we praise and thank you. As You Word says, “You give life and breath and everything.” Father I ask that you give us a grateful heart and show us your love in our lives more and more. Make us content with what You have given us. You are more than enough for us. Because of Your wonderful gift of salvation, we praise You forevermore. In Jesus name Amen.
Sermon Audio
No comments:
Post a Comment