1 SAMUEL 1
Grace. The name Hannah means “grace,” and she needed God’s grace to handle her burdens. Unfortunately, the home was divided, her rival provoked her, and she was childless. Out of this kind of sorrow and disappointment, God often builds great faith and sends special blessings. (See 1 Pet. 5:10.)
Faith. When you consider her situation at home and also the way Eli treated her, you find it remarkable that Hannah had any faith at all. But she did not become bitter against God, as Naomi had done (Ruth 1:19–22), nor did she create problems in the home. She asked God for a son, and God answered her prayer. No wonder Samuel (“heard by God”) was a great man of prayer. Look at the mother God gave him!
Obedience. Hannah’s vow was not a “bargain” with the Lord but an expression of devotion: she would give her firstborn to God and not redeem him with a sacrifice (Exod. 13:11–16). A mother’s prayers and a father’s encouragement (vv.