June 14th, 2026: Hannah the Faithful Supplicant | 1 Samuel 1:9-20, 25

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. (Isaiah 49:13-15).

Our lesson today is about Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet. Her story shows up in the first chapter of the book of I Samuel. Israel was in transition.  They were moving away from being independent tribes united under the leadership of Judges and began to desire to be a kingdom led by a single family. By the end, I Samuel the time of Judges had come to an end.

Hannah is called a faithful supplicant, someone who seeks God’s help.  What set her apart?  How does her example apply to us?   What are the attributes of a faithful supplicant? 

Background

 Recall the last verses of Judges: And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21: 24-25).  There has not been a designated leader of the entire 12 tribes of Israel since the days of Moses and Joshua. Governing themselves by individually considering right and wrong by their own understanding had caused this fledgling nation to fall away from the instruction God gave Moses. The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel give us the history and show us the many consequences of their actions.  

I Samuel opens with Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. (1 Samuel 1: 1-3). Despite the fact that there was chaos, discord, and division among the tribes, there remained a faithful remnant still keeping the law given by Moses.  This man, Elkanah, went to Shiloh, with his family to worship and offer sacrifice at the tabernacle.   

A picture begins to unfold that contrasts law and grace, weakness and strength, need and fulfillment. We see two women: one with children and one without. The one with children, Peninnah, provoked and tormented the one without children, Hannah. Isn’t that how the world works?  Shaming, blaming, taunting, fighting for position, doing anything to separate themselves. The world confuses the winners and the losers.  They rarely perceive the strength of believers.  They err in thinking that the church of God is weak for trusting in HIm. Let us not grow weary and fool ourselves or be persuaded by  those around us.  God sees reality.  He sees the heart. He hears our pleas.  He knows our needs. He has a purpose for every life.

Hannah wanted a child.  

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.

Let’s contrast Hannah’s need with others in scripture.  Sarah heard that the Lord was going to give Abragam a son, but when it didn’t happen the way she thought it should, she used her servant Hagar as a surrogate. Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.(Genesis 16: 1-2) The feud between the son of Hagar and that of Sarah is still going on in the middle east today. Sarah tried to solve the situation on her own, but was incapable of meeting a need only God could supply.

 Rachel was unable to have children, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for her.  And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived (Genesis 25:21)  Rebekah the wife of Jacob, fought with her husband about children but ended up using her servant in the same manner as Sarah had.  And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? (Genesis 30: 1-2).

So why is having children so important to the Old Testament women?  Bearing children was a measure of value, the ultimate honor in spiritual fulfillment. Those who bore their husband's children usually did not have to share him with another wife, and the children would provide for them in their old age.  Old Testament women desired children to continue the family lineage and hoped to be blessed as the  mother of the Messiah, the promised redeemer of Genesis  chapter 3.  

Hannah went directly to the tabernacle to make her request.   She poured out her heart before the Lord, desperate for Him to intervene.  This, in spite of the fact that her husband worried about her, loved her, and had tried to give her more honor, Hannah was deeply grieved. As we shall see, she made a vow. 

And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Notice that Hannah used  the word handmaid three times.  A biblical handmaid is a servant. In her vow she addressed herself as someone in submission to or humbly requesting God’s attention in this matter.  “If you allow me a man child, then, I will give him to you all the days of his life.” That was not an easy vow to make and it was one her husband could refuse to honor. And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the Lord shall forgive her. (Numbers 30: 6-8).

As we will see Elkanah did not void her vow. 

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

Sadly, at this point in history, it was not uncommon for drunkenness to show itself at the temple.  Eli was the high priest.  His sons Hophni and Phinehas were “sons of Belial” , an epithet which meant “worthless men.” In their duties as priests, they were so wicked in the administration of sacrifices that men “abhorred the offering of the Lord.”  People did not want to come to offer sacrifices because of their greed and irreverence. Women were known to lay with them at the door of the tabernacle, in view of others.  Eli knew of their sinful behavior but was unable  or unwilling to make them stop. When Eli saw Hannah in earnest prayer, he assumed she was like one of them and was drunk. It’s easy to project your guilt on others, judging their motives, but scripture is plain that only God sees their hearts.

Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

Many ask how to pray.  In this account, Hannah was so earnest in her conversation with God that she was silently moving her mouth, uncaring about what others thought of her.  She had not noticed or paid attention that Eli was there until he spoke. She had “poured out” her “complaint and grief.”  Prayer begins with faith.  She understands that God is the only one who has the power to help her.  She has nothing to offer Him, except what He gives her through His generosity and grace. She is a faithful supplicant in that she recognized God,  the creator, and her position as simply his servant.

She told him everything she was thinking and feeling. Do you pray like that?  Do we pray by using our mind to manipulate  instead of our heart to surrender?  There are many beautiful prayers written out for us to recite and many people use them.  But somewhere even when using those written out words, there should  come words from our heart. Our hurts, our joys, our grief, our thankfulness need to be real and personal.  Can God handle our doubts, our pains, our grief, our confusion? - indeed He can.  “He is and He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him”.  He is not concerned with the specific words as much as He is the condition of your  heart. Does He answer every prayer in the way that we would like, no, but He always does what is right. He will answer, and works all  things for “the good of those who are the called according to HIs purpose.” 

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

Prior to her prayer, Hannah was anxious, irritated, weeping, and unable to eat. Interesting don’t you think, that scripture specifically says Hannah got up, went back to the family and ate.  Prayer was relief, even before the answer came. When she turned her complaint completely over to God, she was at peace. Do you believe God hears you when you pray?  Is he able to handle your complaint?  Let our requests be known to God and leave them with Him,  in confidence!

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

God answered her prayer.  Amazingly, this is not yet the end of the story.  The name Samuel means God has heard or God remembered.  Hannah asked.  God answered.  And just as God always does, He knew the plans He had made for His child.  But first, Hannah must uphold her end of the vow.  As we read this story, we can find all kinds of excuses to not hand Samuel over to the service of God.  Eli is old.  His sons are wicked. It’s her baby!  She didn’t know what she was saying.  Maybe she would have conceived without the vow.   But God heard her bargain.  God answered.  Her husband did not void her vow.  The next verse tells it all!

And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 

Hannah kept her side of the promise.  She brought the child to the tabernacle after he was weaned.  She could only give God what she had been given from Him.  We are at most stewards of the blessings we have received.  Whatever God has placed in our hands, is to be used for his purpose and glory. Most think Samuel would have been between 3 -4 years old at this time.  Elkanah and Hannah continued to come up every year to offer their sacrifices. Hannah would bring Samuel a new coat every year.  

Samuel grew up to be the last judge and a major prophet of Israel.  He would shepherd the transition of the nation to a kingdom and anoint the first and second  King. Samuel would be righteous, He would personally mourn that the people had turned away from being ruled solely by God to be ruled by a man. Samuel would have the strength of character to reprimand the nation and King Saul when they disobeyed.  He would do as God commanded, even when it was hard.  

What should we learn from Hannah?  The same things that Samuel learned.  Turn to God, always to God , with our prayers, our concerns, our worries, our complaints.  He can handle anything we bring in the sincerity of our hearts. Always thank God for answered prayers. Thank Him even when the answer is unclear, not right now, or not exactly what we wanted.  He is God.  He works all things for our Good - despite our unbelief.  If you make a promise, a vow to God - Keep it.  The standard is not the approval of others.  Your standard is the pattern of Jesus.  He keeps His promises.  Be like Him.  And finally, God is not only able He is also abundantly able.  Hannah went on to have 3 more sons and 2 daughters.  “Pressed down, shaken, and overflowing.”

The world may forget.  Men may forget.  God will keep His word.  He hears his children and knows their hearts. He is able, and you can trust Him.  Become a faithful prayer warrior.  Give all of it to Him and leave it with Him.

Thank you for studying with us! God bless!