Behold & Belong

1 Sam.1:10 “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.” (emphasis added)

How I feel is affected by what direction I choose to face. We see from today’s scripture reference that Hannah “prayed to the Lord”. The Bible says Hannah was in deep anguish (depressed) and she turned to the Lord. I think it is not very right to tell someone that is facing depression or even in cases of clinical depression,  just pray about it and they will be fine.  That would be just ‘religiousizing’ things. Yes, the Bible says Hannah prayed to the Lord, but we see the key in 1 Sam.1:15 “…I was pouring out my heart to the Lord.”

Hannah was pouring her heart out to the Lord and not just saying some mindless prayers. She was not just going through a routine. She was pouring her heart out to God. Hannah was telling God how it hurts and where it hurts. The question is, when last did you pour your heart out to God? When last did you just go to God, sit on the floor, and pour out your heart to Him? When last did you tell God, how and where it hurts? The truth is, when I pour out my heart to God, I make enough room to let God in, and let Him fill me completely. When I pour my heart to God, the burden is emptied, and the vacuum is filled with God. So, I can focus on God easily.

1 Sam.1:11 (TLB) “… she made this vow: ‘O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he’ll be yours for his entire lifetime…’”.   What Hannah was saying, in essence, is, ‘If You put new life in me, I will invest that life in You’. Hannah was saying to God; ‘I want You to be a part of my life now and in the future’. The truth is that, if a mother gives her son to God, she would have to keep coming back to God to check up on her son. In those days, the male child is the life of the mother, her guarantee for many things to come. So,  God giving Hannah a son would not only mean giving her life but it would also mean giving her a guaranteed future. And Hannah promised to give God that guaranteed future! Profound!

What Hannah was saying is, ‘Lord, I just don’t want to be focused on You now. I just don’t want to be focused on You until You solve my problem. I want to be focused on You for life.’ That is big! We know that the son will outlive the mother. Hannah was saying, she wants to focus on God till the end of her life and that is huge!

Prayer (song):  Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul, I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake, Lord, have Your ways in me. Amen!