Heralds Digest

  “ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.” I Samuel 1 : 27 - 28   NKJV The child Samuel may appear to just be an answer to Hannah’s prayer, but the child actually represented a token of a covenant relationship between Hannah and God. For example, the child opens up an intimate relationship between Hannah and God, evidenced by her priestly prayer in Chapter 2. Also, the child became an answer to the restoration of priesthood in Israel. God had intended to terminate the priesthood from the race of Eli, and needed a covenant child to fulfil the need (1 Samuel 2:26). Therefore, when Hannah said “ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him “, it shows that true prayer is always an engagement between the God of Heaven and man over a covenant child. And whenever ...

  “Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”” ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭1:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Nobody cares about the skills of the wicked heart in the main-bowl for grief game. The unregenerate hearts are skillful in the business of exchanging bitterness for grief. Particularly when the game is between God and the afflicted soul, almost everyone within our sphere of influence will share from the exchange of blame and bitterness. That was the expectation of the rival of Hannah when it was clear that ‘the LORD had closed her womb’ . Notwithstanding, the righteous is expected to have a different disposition when it appears the Lord is strangely throwing the grief at him. While many in Hannah’s shoe would have thrown the grief card or bitterness bac...

“Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”” ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭ 1:11 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/1sa.1.11.nkjv   Man’s common concept of gifts from God is God’s release and man’s receipt. Similar to childish disposition, Man’s release of gifts received from God usually requires enormous persuasion. However, Hannah underwent an unusual bargain with God in order to have her womb opened by God: She promised to give Samuel back to God, if God ever considered her prayer for a release of the gift. And She painfully fulfilled her promise to God. Unfortunately, many of such promises are made by desperate people at the crossroads of life, but went unfulfilled. Actually, all of God’s gifts (children, wealth, talents, career, et...