"THE APPROACH OF A TRUE HEART" BY DAVID LAYMAN

November 19, 2000

I Samuel 1:4-20

Have you ever wanted something SO much, that you were willing to give it away if you got it?

Me neither! The things I really want, I want to keep forever. At first glance, the story of Hannah is one that many desiring but unable to have children can identify with. 3,100 years ago, when the events in I Samuel took place, there was no clearly articulated vision of eternal life. It took the life of Christ to bring that to light! Instead, the children of Israel believed they could participate in the ultimate fulfillment of God's eternal promises through their descendents. When God delivered the Hebrew children from slavery in Egypt, and through their wilderness wanderings into the promised land, that land was divided up in between the tribes of Israel. The same land was to be passed down from one generation to the next. An heir was necessary to work the land in the next generation, and continue to keep the land in the family. Monogamy was the general practice of marriage. But if a woman, such as Hannah, was unable to conceive, her husband could marry a second wife, which Elkanah did, marrying Peninnah. Peninnah was able to have many children, while Hannah remained childless. It was not a happy household, because Peninnah didn't miss an opportunity to rub it in! Jesus, of course, preached against bigamy when he said "No man can serve two masters!"

Without understanding the importance of heirs in Bible times, we may misunderstand our lesson from I Samuel. There is far more going on here than rivalry between women. There's more than the desire of Hannah to become a mother. Hannah had a deep love for God. She wanted, for the sake of her ancestors as well as herself, to remain part of salvation history. Since the time of Jesus, and his opening the door to eternal life for all who would receive Him, we have viewed having children in a different light. Children today may well indeed be a blessing, and an awesome responsibility, but they are NOT a requirement for eternal life!

Hannah went to the temple of the Lord and poured her heart out to God in prayer. Hannah prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly, vowing that if she was blessed with a child, she would dedicate her son to the temple to be raised and used for Gods service. The old priest Eli was sitting nearby. He could see Hannahs lips moving, but couldn't hear what she prayed. Eli concluded Hannah was drunk! When Hannah clarified the situation, Eli responded "GO IN PEACE; THE GOD OF ISRAEL GRANT PETITION." And sure enough, Hannah and Elkanah were blessed with a son, Samuel. When Samuel was weaned, Hannah fulfilled her vow and presented him for service in the temple. What would God have us learn from this passage?

First of all, through the example of Hannah, we see the importance of expressing our need to God in prayer. Not just routine "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayers, but the intense kind that Hannah prayed. Eli mistakenly presumed Hannah had been drinking, her prayers were so filled with intensity and emotion. I've never received a call from the local police department and heard these words "Pastor Layman, we've picked up another of your church members. Yeah, praying so hard and intensely, the arresting officer thought he was inebriated. I'm willing to release him to your care." To be honest, aren't we more intent on impressing others with how faithful and good we are, than on levelling with God, sharing every intense pain and thought that's in our heart?

Secondly, Hannah didn't make hers a self seeking prayer. Hannah didnt pray "0 Lord, give me a son I can flaunt in front of Peninnah every day, and while you're at it, take Peninnah's children away." Hannah asked for a son that would be born to her, but that at a young age she would give to God. Jesus promised that whatever we ask for IN HIS NAME would be granted to us. To pray for something "In Jesus name" does not simply mean including those words. It means to pray for something that, in God's purposes, He wills to use for His kingdom. The proper response to God for whatever He grants us, is for us to give it back to him. If we attempt to keep Gods grace to and for ourselves, we will lose it!

Gods gifts are not meant for the benefit of our own pride or indulgence, but to be used for Gods kingdom. Hannah could have kept Samuel throughout his childhood, and paraded Samuel constantly before her rival Peninnah: "See Peninnah, I've got a child too!" God doesn't give us our requests so that we can consider ourselves one up on someone else! God's gifts are meant to be used for God's kingdom! Peninnah was a self-centered, small person to mercilessly flaunt her children in front of childless Hannah. How do you think Peninnah responded when she saw Hannah finally receive the child of Hannah's dreams, but then, after the child was weaned, present young Samuel for service in the temple? That selfless act of Hannah's devotion to God had to make an impression on Peninnah! And on everyone else who knew them.

Abraham and Sarah longing for a son, finally being blessed with Isaac, and then being willing to offer Isaac back, Hannah longing for a son, and then being willing to present Samuel to the temple.. Ruth being willing to give up Moab to aid Naomi and serve the one true God, a widow having but two mites, and yet being willing to give them to God.... Do we notice a pattern here? We have asked God for many things. What are we willing to render unto God? Are we willing to lose our health and still serve God? Are we willing to play second fiddle to serve in Gods orchestra? We pray every week "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." Do we really mean it?

Ever since I was a child, I have felt a call to serve God. Along the way, I've been more than willing to share with God things God could do for me to make me a useful servant. I prayed that God would make me a great major league shortstop. Then, when I was being interviewed during a World Series celebration, I could, like some athletes today, give all the glory to God! As a teenager, I dreamed of becoming a successful popular singer. Think of what good could be done for the Kingdom of God if I became a big star! Before college, I even considered becoming a political science major, and running for office. Just think, had God done for me what I once desired, I could be awaiting a court date to decide who REALLY won some election! Why is it God didn't see fit to answer my prayers? Could it be I was praying self-centered prayers, which I tried to disguise before God?

Hannah in reality was praying to God "Make me a part of your eternal plan!" That is a prayer that God will grant for any of us. Our responsibility is to pray that God uses us. God's responsibility is to figure out how He wants that to happen. A willing vessel, God will always use, no matter how unpromising the prospect. Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth, in their advanced years, were not very promising prospects for God to use to give birth to children to advance the kingdom. But God did it. The baby Moses, condemned as an unwanted Hebrew baby to float amidst the bullrushes, was not a likely prospect for God to later use to redeem Israel from its slavery in Egypt. Jesus, whose upcoming birth was announced to betrothed but not yet married Mary, and was born in a stable in little Bethlehem, not a very likely prospect. To bring forgiveness and eternal life forth through a man condemned to death by the religious leaders, and nailed to a cross by powerful Rome, not very likely!

You see, friends, God can do anything. God can take our weaknesses, our pain, even our sins and failings, and use them to serve His eternal kingdom! All God desires is the intensity of our devotion, and our willingness to return to Him what He sends to us!

Read Hebrews 10:19-25

Rev. David Layman

First Presbyterian Church