1 Samuel 1:21-28

We are considering today the story of a man who was noted for his piety, and purity, and prayer. He was not a Prophet as was Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Daniel. He did not foretell Israel’s future nor God’s revelations of things to come. He did go in and out before Israel aa a man who was appointed of Gid and who walked with God. It will be interesting for us to know how it was that Samuel came on to the scenes of Israel’s national life.

•. He was a child given in answer to prayer.

Hannah was one of God’s noble women. Her prayers and songs are notable for their clearness of vision and power of faith. She had no son, and her heart was thereby greatly grieved. So Hannah prayed and promised, saying: “‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and . . . will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life’” (1:11).

God heard and answered that prayer; answered it to Hannah’s joy and to His own glory. Hannah had prayed with a heartfelt eagerness; she had prayed with a definiteness of purpose, and with a persevering earnestness. We may well study her prayer, and pray as she prayed.

•. He was a child dedicated to God for service.

Hannah based her plea upon a pledge. She told God that if He would give her a son, she would give that son back to Him and to His service. It is one thing to pray and promise, it is another thing to fulfill a pledge. In this Hannah did not fail God. What she promised she was willing to perform. She took her young child to Eli, and she said: “‘For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord’” (vv. 27, 28). The Lord remembered Hannah, and she remembered the Lord.

•. A mother with a rejoicing heart.

It would hardly be right to pass over Hannah’s magnificat, as she gave her child for service. Hannah was a real mother, with a mother’s heart. She yearned after her child with a tender love, and yet she gladly gave him to the Lord. As she laid her “only son” upon God’s altar for service, she said, “‘My heart rejoices in the Lord’” (2:1). Friends, let us give with a glad heart. Let us sacrifice our all with a song. Shall we hold back from God any gift? God had but one Son, and He gave Him for us; shall we not give to Him our all?

•. He was a child influenced by a mother’s life.

Someone has said that mothers make robes with which to clothe their children, yet, not robes weaved on the spindle, so much as robes of character. Did not Paul, in the Spirit, say to Timothy: “The genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5)?

Parents leave indelible marks upon their children. This is true even after birth. The child follows the example of his father. The father and the mother both make telltale impressions on their offspring.

Guard your heart. Teach your children. Watch snd pray.