Thursday March 5, 2008 LOVING HOPE
Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the LORD had kept her from having children. Though she was resentful, she prayed to the LORD while she cried. While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the LORD, Eli was watching her mouth. She was praying silently. Her voice couldn't be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk. "How long are you going to stay drunk?" Eli asked her. "Get rid of your wine." Hannah responded, "No, sir. I'm not drunk. I'm depressed. I'm pouring out my heart to the LORD. Don't take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I've been troubled and tormented." Eli replied, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request." 1 Samuel 1:4-5, 10, 12-17 Elkanah is a man I can respect. Although the traditions of his day alluded to the fact that if a woman could not bear children she wasn't worth spending time on, yet, this man loved his wife. Sadly, his love wasn't enough for Hannah; she wanted a child. How many of us go through life wanting something that we don't have and not enjoying the love around us? Well, if we were to ask everyone we come in contact with that question the response would be overwhelming. Yet, we need to learn from this scripture. Hannah could have kept her eyes on her circumstances and turned from God, but thankfully she did just the opposite. She trusted that God would grant her the desires of her heart and she sought Him through prayer; that is faith. Even though Eli accused Hannah of being drunk, she stood her ground and shared the desire of her heart with a man of God. Good lesson. The Lord tells us in His Word that one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight, so now Hannah had support in her prayer. There is power when we get in harmony with someone through prayer. God definitely has a plan for our lives. We aren't here just to wander through life going from one crisis to another. He has planted a seed of purpose within us, but we must diligently seek Him in order for the seed to grow, and most of the time that seed doesn't grow into a full-fledged plant without dying, getting imbedded, and being nourished, and that takes time. Has God planted a seed and a desire within you to do something? Have you allowed your circumstances to dictate whether or not that seed becomes a plant? Well, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Do like Hannah. Go to the Lord in prayer and then share your prayer with another spiritual friend and seek God's face. Don't give up. Press into God and press on with Him. He promises that He will give us the desires of our heart when our will is aligned with His. Father, I seek You this morning on behalf of the person reading this who has given up all hope of ever doing anything of significance for the Kingdom. Although I have no clue who that person is, I stand with them in seeking Your plan. We thank You for Your Word, both written and living within us, and we ask that You provide the increase. We believe, help our unbelief! ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
