HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
Our Scripture Reading is taken from the Book of 1 Samuel 1:1-20
And 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. — 1 Samuel 1:15
Hannah desperately wanted children. Every year, when her family went to worship at Shiloh, she judged herself to be a failure by her culture’s standards. And one day it broke her. She sank into deep anguish; she couldn’t eat, and all she could do was weep. No one could comfort or console her.
But despite the hopelessness of her situation, Hannah prayed and turned to, not away from, the Holy One, who “had closed her womb.”
She begged God to attend to her forsakenness and grant her a son. In her prayer, Hannah trusted that God heard her and cared about her and would answer her prayer. And God did hear and care; he also answered Hannah’s prayer with the gift of a son.
When we experience dark days and seasons of grief and despair, like Hannah we too can cry out to God and claim his faithfulness. In such moments we are called to remember the true story of our generous, gracious God—the God of hope, the God who will make right what is wrong in our lives, the God who will overturn all that causes grief in our world.
God has answered our prayers with the gift of his Son. Jesus is the answer to all our prayers, and we will soon be celebrating his return to take His Bride to be forever with Him. Are you numbered among the few?
Do you love and serve this Jesus?
Let us pray
Lord Jesus, when we are living in dark places, help us to remember that you are the light of the world who has come to show us the way to live. In Your Name, we pray. Amen.
