In the book one of Samuel tells the story of the birth of a prophet who will later be recognized for many works that would perform in service to the Lord, including the anointing of the first two kings of Israel.
BIRTH OF SAMUEL (1 Samuel 1)
1 There was a man of Ramataim of Zophim, from the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, the Ephraimite.
2 And he had two women; the name of one era Ana, and that of the other, Penina. And Penina had children, but Ana did not have them.
3 And every year that man went up out of his city to worship and to offer sacrifices to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh, where were two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of the Lord.
4 And when the day came that Elkanah offered sacrifice, he gave Penina his wife, and all his sons and all his daughters, each one his share.
5 But to Ana it gave a chosen part; because he loved Ana, although Jehovah had not allowed him to have children.
6 And her rival annoyed her, annoying her and making her sad, because Jehovah had not granted her children.
7 So he did every year; When he went up to the house of the Lord, he irritated her like that; for which Ana wept, and did not eat.
8 And Elkanah his husband said to her: Ana, why are you crying? Why do not you eat? And why is your heart grieved? Is not I better for you than ten children?
9 And Ana arose after she had eaten and drunk in Shiloh; and while Eli the priest was sitting in a chair next to a pillar of the temple of Jehovah,
10 She bitterly prayed to the LORD and wept abundantly.
11 And he vowed, saying, Jehovah of hosts, if thou deserve to look upon the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and forget thy maid, but give thy handmaid a son, I will dedicate it to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall pass over his head.
12 While she prayed long before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.
13 But Ana spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; and Eli considered her drunk.
14 Then Eli said to him, How long will you be drunk? Digest your wine
15 And Ana answered him, saying, No, my lord; I am a troubled woman of spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 Do not have your servant for an ungodly woman; because for the magnitude of my anguish and of my affliction I have spoken until now.
17 Eli answered and said: Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant you the request that you have made to him.
18 And she said, Find your servant grace before your eyes. And the woman went on her way, and ate, and it was no more sad.
19 And they rose up early in the morning, and worshiped before Jehovah, and returned, and went to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah came to Hannah his wife, and Jehovah remembered her.
20 And it came to pass at the end of the time, after she had conceived Hannah, that she bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, saying, Because I had asked him of the Lord.
21 Then Elkanah and all his family went up to offer Jehovah the customary sacrifice and his vow.
22 But Hannah did not go up, but said to her husband, I will not go up until the child is weaned, so that he may take him and be presented before the Lord, and stay there forever.
23 And Elkanah his husband said to him, Do what seems good to you; stay until you wean him; Only let Jehovah keep his word. And the woman stayed, and raised her son until she weaned him.
24 After he had weaned him, he took him with him, with three bullocks, an ephah of flour, and a vessel of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh; and the child was small.
25 And they killed the calf, and they brought the child to Eli.
26 And she said: Oh, my lord! Live your soul, my lord, I am that woman who was here with you praying to Jehovah.
27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord gave me what I asked.
28 I, therefore, dedicate it to Jehovah; every day that he lives, it will be Jehovah's.
And he worshiped Jehovah there.
As other important personages in the bible we see how the Lord since before birth had a purpose and plans for this man as well as each one of us according to (Ephesians 2:10)
The birth of Samuel begins with a woman immersed in a great sadness perhaps the greatest that a wife could have in the Israelite culture, not having children. Elcana, Ana's husband, already had children with his other wife Penina, the Bible in verse 5 of the same book says that Elcana loved Ana, although she had not given him children. Ana endured each year the provocations of Penina that led her to tears, which was notorious for her husband Elcana.
Maybe many of us have been in a similar situation, desiring something fervently without realizing it for years, maybe it is the ideal person to leave solitude, a job that gives us stability.
In the midst of despair and anguish Ana makes the best decision, and she sought help from the only one who could give it to her, she goes to the temple and, as she says in verse 10 with bitterness of soul, she prayed to Jehovah and wept abundantly, shed her being, his anguish and despair before the One who tells us the Scripture that will wipe away every tear.
It is interesting to examine carefully the prayer of the characters in the bible, since they serve as model for the type of prayer that the Lord responds to and learn from it, let's examine the attitude and the words with which Ana addresses God.
The first thing that Ana did was pour out her heart before the Lord, I do not look for guilty, she did not accuse Elcana, she did not look for Eli, and as verse 12 says she prayed for a long time, and did not limit the time where I expressed her desire.
He also made a promise, saying, "Jehovah of hosts, if you deign to look upon the affliction of your maidservant, and remember me, and forget not your maid, but give your maiden a manchild, I will dedicate it to Jehovah all the days of his life, and no razor shall pass over his head.
How much time do we invest in our prayer to the Lord? Do we spend quiet time in His presence? Or are we going to your feet with a long list of requests?
The second thing that this woman did was to address herself to God with humility, remember the character that our defender calls him Jehovah of Armies, and immediately shows the humility with which he initiates his request, "if you deign ... you remember ... no you forget ... you die ... "
We must never forget to whom our prayers go, it is not even a simple genius of the lamp, IT IS GOD, all majestic!
Ana includes a vow in her prayer in exchange for her request being fulfilled, and she promises to dedicate her son every day of her life to the service of the Lord and, in addition, to make him a Nazarite.
It is not any promise, Ana is saying that when her son was born, at a certain age she would be delivered to the Temple to serve the Lord for the rest of her life, her much desired son would only spend her first years with her and then be in the temple.
It is very easy to offer anything in exchange for our desire, the problem comes when we receive what is so desired then our offer seems too much and we make the mistake of finding an excuse to annul our offer, the bible warns us that we will not delay what is promised to God (Ecle 5: 4,) When you make a promise to God, do not delay in fulfilling it; because He does not take pleasure in the foolish ones.
At the end of the prayer we see another important thing, the behavior that Ana had done as she could her request, verse 18 tells us that Ana retired, ate and was not sad anymore. The Bible never tells us to be bad, or that it is sin to grieve, in fact the Lord Jesus himself was sad, and sadness like other emotions are part of our nature as human beings, but another thing is to prolong that sadness and extend it until the depression.
After time tells us the story that Ana conceived a child whom she named Samuel that means "heard by God or God's request", here we see how Ana recognizes that this child was born in response to her prayer, and is now to fulfill the offer as a vote for the answer of your prayer.
When the day came to fulfill the promise Ana fulfills, taking the child to the temple next to the offerings he gives to the priest Eli, to serve in the temple. In addition to this he gives us a lesson about, worshiping and praising God recognizing His greatness,.
Feeling tempted to keep what we offered in exchange for the fulfillment of some request, because when we offered it, it did not seem so much to us, but after receiving it, it starts to seem too much.
Ana expressed her great gratitude in an extensive prayer that speaks to us of the power of God, of the confidence that we can have in Him, of His protection and His provision, of His sovereignty to give and to remove, does not fail to exalt any attribute of Our great God.
The story ends by telling us that Samuel stayed in the temple ministering before the priest Eli, and his mother visited him every year (see 18-19) and brought him a small tunic, and thanks to the fidelity of Ana the Lord blessed her not only with Samuel, but he conceived three more sons and 2 daughters.
When we obey God, we trust in Him, we will never be disappointed. Ana could have resented giving up her only son, if he had broken his promise to God, he would have lost a greater blessing.
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The Bible reveals two big problems in Hannah’s life. She had little control over the first and none at all over the second. In the first place, she was in a polygamous marriage, with a rival wife who hated her.
In the second place, she was barren. That condition is difficult for any wife who longs to bear children; but in Hannah’s time and culture, it was a source of intense grief. Each family counted on offspring to carry on the family name. Barrenness seemed a bitter reproach and shame.
Guess what solved her problems? Prayers...
As rightly said by @lorennys in this article, prayers made Hannah a happy woman, her tears dried up and she was fulfilled.
Do not study that passage pointing out the huge SACRIFICE she made. She dedicated her heart desire, her most cherished asset, the only thing she asked for, Samuel... to God.
Imagine asking God for something and giving it totally back to Him.
Then she believed.
This is a great article, I always enjoy reading about ordinary people who did extraordinary things for God.
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Even as Hannah prayed and yes you are correct, she kept her vows, this is important. The bible tell us not to get into vowing let it be yes or no since you are very correct in saying that some people forget their vows after receiving the request. When we pray, in the name of Jesus, even if we know not how to pray as is said in Romans 8:26, the Spirit maketh intercession for us so that God can hear and answer our prayers according to his will which is always best for us. Blessings.
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