What do the two prayers of Hannah teach us about prayer?

Today Bible Study:

 What do the two prayers of Hannah teach us about prayer?

In 1 Samuel 1:10,11, Hannah vowed in “bitterness of soul” to give the Lord her son in return for God’s favor in giving her that son. She prayed as a “maidservant”—a humble, submissive way of referring to herself in the presence of her superior, sovereign God. “Remember me,” she requested, asking for special attention and care from the Lord. She would give the child to the Lord “all the days of his life,” which was in contrast to the normal Nazirite vow, which was only for a specified period of time (see Num. 6:4, 5, 8).

In contrast to the prayer that came from her bitterness, Hannah prayed from joy in 2:1–10. The prominent idea in Hannah’s prayer is that the Lord is a righteous Judge. He had brought down the proud (Peninnah) and exalted the humble (Hannah).The prayer has four sections:

1. Hannah prayed to the Lord for His salvation (vv.1, 2);

2. Hannah warned the proud of the Lord’s humbling (vv. 3–8d);

3. Hannah affirmed the Lord’s faithful care for His saints (vv. 8e–9b);

4. Hannah petitioned the Lord to judge the world and to prosper His anointed king (vv. 10d-e). 

This prayer has a number of striking verbal similarities with David’s song of 2 Samuel 22:2–51:“horn” (2:1; 22:3),“rock” (2:2; 22:2, 3), salvation/deliverance (2:1, 2; 22:2, 3), grave/Sheol (2:6; 22:6),“thunder” (2:10; 22:14),“king” (2:10; 22:51), and “anointed” (2:10; 22:51).

 ©BY PASTOR JUDAH OLATUNDE