Daily Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:10 In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried. 11 Then she took a vow; she said, “Adonai-Tzva’ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head.”
19 They got up early in the morning and worshipped before Adonai, then returned and came to their house in Ramah.
Elkanah had sexual relations with Hannah his wife, and Adonai remembered her. 20 She conceived; and in due time she gave birth to a son, whom she named Sh’mu’el, “because I asked Adonai for him.”
24 After weaning him, she took him up with her, along with three young bulls, a bushel of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of Adonai in Shiloh, even though he was just a child. 25 After the bull had been slaughtered, the child was brought to ‘Eli; 26 and she said, “My lord, as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to Adonai. 27 I prayed for this child, and Adonai has granted the request I asked of him. 28 Therefore, I too have loaned him to Adonai — as long as he lives, he is on loan to Adonai.” And he prostrated himself there before Adonai.
2:18 But Sh’mu’el ministered in the presence of Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest even though he was only a child. 19 Each year his mother would make him a little coat and bring it when she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
Reflection Questions:The prophet Samuel’s mother, Hannah, lived in a culture that allowed men to have more than one wife—and she suffered the anguish of being “the childless wife.” She pleaded with God for a son, promised to devote her son to God’s service, and did. But Hannah also kept on playing a loving role in Samuel’s life, helping clothe and support him.
- The full story in 1 Samuel 1 said that when Eli the high priest saw Hannah weeping and praying silently, he at first thought she was drunk. In fact, she was simply turning to God to express her sadness and distress. When you experience anguish or distress, are you more inclined to take those feelings to God in prayer, or to distance yourself from God?
- We know that Hannah’s little boy Samuel grew up to be a pivotal, transitional figure in Israel’s history. In what ways would you expect that his mother’s faithfulness, both to her promise to God and to him as her beloved son, helped to shape the man that Samuel became? In what ways, if at all, was your mother’s influence on your life mainly a model of faithfulness to God?
Lord God, I thank you for each person who helped to point me to your love and goodness. Help me to live in ways that are a positive influence on others. Amen.Insights from Kari Burgess
Kari Burgess is a Program Director for the Catalyst team, handling promotion and marketing for all of the conferences held at Resurrection, as well as registration and coordinating hospitality volunteers.
Hannah’s story of faithfulness and dedication to God is inspiring to me as a mother. She turned to the Lord in her time of deepest distress, instead of turning away. And she made a promise to God during this time which had to be incredibly difficult to keep.
I love to think about how Hannah’s faithfulness shaped Samuel and think about it in terms of how I influence my own children. Every day, I pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in me so that everything I do, everything I say, and everything I feel deep down point to Jesus Christ, so that His glory shines through all aspects of my life. In particular, I pray He will shape me as a mother, so I may have the right words and actions to guide my children towards Him. My deepest desire is for my children to know and to love Jesus Christ.
I question every action, reaction, thought, feeling and word coming from me to my children. There are times when I completely miss the mark. (I could name several times I failed even today, starting with the wild goose chase of locating a flute at 7:00 a.m. which apparently was left in a classroom at a different school than the one my child attends. But I told myself I’m over it). That’s OK. I don’t take it as failure (most of the time). It’s an opportunity for my children to see it is OK not to be perfect and that we all make mistakes.
My youngest daughter wrote me a very sweet message for my birthday which included several things she loves about me. My favorite was: “You are hardly ever mean to anyone.” A close second was: “You don’t make me earn my keep.” Those made me laugh (and think I’d better work some more on the first one!) She said several other very sweet things which made me appreciate the wonderful relationship we share.
I know I won’t always get it right. But each morning is a chance to start fresh. With Hannah’s faithfulness as an inspiration, I will continue to be faithful to the promise I made to God when I became a mother: to love, protect, nurture and guide my children.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Hannah’s story of faithfulness and dedication to God is inspiring to me as a mother. She turned to the Lord in her time of deepest distress, instead of turning away. And she made a promise to God during this time which had to be incredibly difficult to keep.
I love to think about how Hannah’s faithfulness shaped Samuel and think about it in terms of how I influence my own children. Every day, I pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in me so that everything I do, everything I say, and everything I feel deep down point to Jesus Christ, so that His glory shines through all aspects of my life. In particular, I pray He will shape me as a mother, so I may have the right words and actions to guide my children towards Him. My deepest desire is for my children to know and to love Jesus Christ.
I question every action, reaction, thought, feeling and word coming from me to my children. There are times when I completely miss the mark. (I could name several times I failed even today, starting with the wild goose chase of locating a flute at 7:00 a.m. which apparently was left in a classroom at a different school than the one my child attends. But I told myself I’m over it). That’s OK. I don’t take it as failure (most of the time). It’s an opportunity for my children to see it is OK not to be perfect and that we all make mistakes.
My youngest daughter wrote me a very sweet message for my birthday which included several things she loves about me. My favorite was: “You are hardly ever mean to anyone.” A close second was: “You don’t make me earn my keep.” Those made me laugh (and think I’d better work some more on the first one!) She said several other very sweet things which made me appreciate the wonderful relationship we share.
I know I won’t always get it right. But each morning is a chance to start fresh. With Hannah’s faithfulness as an inspiration, I will continue to be faithful to the promise I made to God when I became a mother: to love, protect, nurture and guide my children.
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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