The Peace Found in Prayer

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Hannah and Samuel. That’s partly due to the fact that my wife and I have lived the story…there was a time that we were waiting on God for a child of our own. But it’s also because I love how Hannah came to God with her heart’s desire and what we learn about God through this scene. 

We learn that it’s ok to go to God with your heart’s desires—it’s ok to cry out to God—we don’t need to be afraid that we’re bothering God—we can trust that He listens. That’s what we see Hannah doing—there is one thing in life that she wants and she can’t have it. She knows that only God can change her circumstances and so she cries out to Him. Look at the connection between Hannah’s suffering and her prayer: she has every reason to be bitter but instead of giving into her emotions, she lets her circumstances drive her to prayer. Her pain leads her to an abiding faith. 

We see that when we go to God in prayer, we don’t have to be so concerned about having the “right words”: it’s not like going to our earthly father who might be ignorant of our needs. In that situation, we would need to carefully choose our words (“How should I tell him? What should I tell him? Should I tell him?”). God already knows our circumstances before we come to Him. What matters to Him is our faith in coming to Him. 

We see how Hannah’s prayer brings her peace. After Eli blesses her, she is able to eat and “her face is no longer downcast”. The contrast between Hannah who is too sad to eat and the Hannah who comes from God’s presence full of hope and confidence is obvious. Her circumstances have not yet changed, but she has found peace with God. That is what prayer does: it provides the pray-er with a “peace that surpasses all understanding”. No longer is the problem our responsibility: now it is God’s to handle

But, you know, I am convinced that Hannah’s peace with God would not have changed if he had chosen not to give her a son. Because the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding only comes from faith that God knows best. It comes from knowing what I want but trusting that God knows what I need. And then accepting what He decides as being for my best. I’m convinced that’s where Hannah was after her prayer: she had left it up to God to decide.