The Desperation of Hannah

I believe, friends, we can move the heart of God. Did not the inhabitants of Nineveh so move the heart of God through their repentance, that He stayed His hand of destruction upon them and their city? Like I said, I believe we can move the heart of God in prayer and in eternity Him with our whole heart, and I believe my Bible can back that statement up. I want us to look today into the prayer life of Hannah, who earnestly sought the face of the Almighty in desperate prayer, and how God answered that prayer by giving her the Prophet Samuel.

Turn in your Bibles, friends, to 1st Samuel chapter 1. The title of my message today is, The Desperation of Hannah, and my text can be found in 1st Samuel chapter 1, beginning in verse 4. Let me read us this striking passage of scripture to us at this time, and it is my prayer, friends, that the Holy Spirit of God will be pleased to attend the reading of His Holy Word. And when the time was that Elkanah offered he gave to Pananah and to all her sons and daughters portions, but unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, for the Lord had shut up her womb.

And as he did so year by year—let me pause here, friends—so we see poor Hannah, who was childless, being mocked and tormented by Pananah, who was rich with children, but jealous of her husband's love for Hannah. But notice Hannah's aching barrenness and want. Let us continue with our text.

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, she provoked her, therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou, and why eatest thou not, and why is thy heart grieved? Am I not better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten and shallow, 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. Want to pause here, friends. Notice Hannah's bitterness of soul and need.

She has reached her point of desperation and utter dependence upon her God. Let me say this, friends. It is here when all hope is gone, and we realize our utter bankruptcy before God, and acknowledge our desperate need of him, that that is when he cups his hand to his ear, if I may so speak, and leans over his throne in glory to listen more intently to our desperate prayers.

Let us continue now with our 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 will 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. Let me pause here again, friends. So here Hannah makes a pact with God that if he does his part, she will do her part in consecrating her son to be a preacher boy.

I wonder how many godly mothers have been responsible for preacher boys whom God has used. Do you pray for your children like that, friends? Do you dedicate them to the Lord for his use? I fear too many mothers today pray for their children's health and wealth and happiness in this world, and then go on and lose their child to this corrupt world. Let us continue with the Word of God as seen in our passage.

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

Now that's just like some Baptist preacher to pass judgment upon a true believer doing the will of God. Forgive me, friends, for my interruption. Let us now continue along in our text.

And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thine wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, Know 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.

I will stop there, friends, to draw your attention to Hannah's holy desperation and prayer. After years of suffering, an aching heart, and knowing full well the emptiness and want of a deep need unfulfilled, she casts herself entirely upon God and his mercy and begs him to bring forth change. Eli accuses her of being a wanton drunk and chastises her for it.

Yes, Hannah was drunk, all right, for she was intoxicated with her God and leaning solely on him for her support as she unburdened herself the almighty in desperate prayer. Let me ask you, friends, do you think God hears desperate prayer? Do you? Then let me ask you this. If God hasn't answered your prayer, is it because you have not become desperate enough? I believe we don't see answer to prayers as we should because our heart attitude is not low enough, not emptied of self enough, not utterly barren enough, in a realization of our utter bankruptcy before God and a total dependence upon him.

Jesus said in John's gospel in chapter 15, apart from me you can do nothing. Yet we attempt to live most of our life apart from him. We don't include him in our plans.

We don't consult him in most of our decisions. That is, until we mess things up by going our own way and getting a jam that only he can get us out of. We call on him when we're in trouble, but we seldom seek him earnestly when all is well with us.

Is this not human nature? But God looks for our acknowledgement, our utter need of him for all things and in all things pertaining to this life and the life to come. I really believe, friends, one of the main reasons we're not seeing revival in our day is because of our self-sufficiency. We have a self-sufficient church today that lacks nothing but is blinded to the sad fact that she is bankrupt and naked and in need of God.

Oh friends, that we would enter into the holy desperation of Hannah in her want and need. Oh, that we would become so intoxicated with Jesus that all we want is more of him. It is my prayer, friend, that perhaps God will be pleased to bring you to the place of barrenness and allow you to know the holy desperation of Hannah in her need, whose broken-hearted heart cries made her appear drunk to the religious authorities who were out of touch with God, but her desperation and prayer so moved the heart of Almighty God that he not only gave her the answer to her prayer by giving her a son, but who gave the world much more by giving her a prophet, a prophet who grew in stature and who assumed God's mantle of authority that even kings would quake in their armor before him.

Let us pray that God Almighty will transform our very own prayer life and let us pray that God will be pleased to look upon our barrenness today in our churches and send us a Samuel for our day. Let us pray.