Pained Prayers

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.’” — 1 Samuel 1:12–14 (NIV)

Look closely and you’ll see a pattern throughout God’s Word. A point of crisis is reached, the clock seems to be running out on God’s people, all hope seems lost. But just then, in their cry of utter desperation to Him, He moves in a way to reveal this isn’t the end; rather, it’s the beginning of something wonderful.

That’s the dynamic in play here as we’re brought into Hannah’s story in the opening of 1 Samuel. For some mysterious reason, God had withheld her ability to conceive a child. And her inability was only magnified by the fertility of her husband’s other wife (a common situation back then)! Year after year, her desired dream of being a mother seemed to recede further and further from reality.

As we cross Hannah’s path here, she’s reached her point of personal crisis. She had become defined by an inner pain that drove her to pray at the threshold of the one place where a broken heart should expect to find comfort . . . the Lord’s house.

But instead of comfort, she encounters criticism as Eli, the priest, observes her behavior, assumes she’s drunk, and rebukes her! She was already hurting, now imagine the sting of being misunderstood this way! She could have said, “You know what, this whole trusting in God bit isn’t working and it isn’t worth it!”

It would have been easy for Hannah to turn her back on God at this point . . . many have. She didn’t. Instead, she owns her pain and shares how it had become a catalyst for her prayer: “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking. . . . I was pouring out my soul to theLord. . . .I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief” (1 Samuel 1:15–16 NIV).

To Eli’s credit, he recognizes his error and pronounces a priestly blessing upon Hannah that God would grant her prayer (verses 17–18). Watch what happens next: “And the Lord remembered her.S o in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him’” (1 Samuel 1:19–20 NIV).

Hannah’s prayer is answered and her crisis is redeemed, but not just in a personal sense. Yes, her own heart’s desire is met in having a son of her own, Samuel, but beyond her, this son will be a blessing to the entire nation of Israel as he will prove to be the spiritual leader to guide God’s people out of a dark and uncertain period of their history. Samuel would be the means by which the Lord redirects Israel back in a righteous direction!

Life is filled with pain, we can’t avoid it. But we can repurpose our pain as Hannah did. She shows us that some of our most powerful prayers come from our pain. When we’re hurting, instead of turning away from the God who’s allowing it, we must turn toward Him in an ever-deepening dependency. Trust in His motives even though His methods are painful. Persevere in prayer in the pain. In His wise timing, we’ll come to see He’s been working towards something glorious all along—not just for our sake, but for the sake of many others.

Pause: What important perspective can we gain from Hannah’s example on prayer and pain?

Practice: Take some time today to determine what the “pain point” is in your life right now. How is it affecting your prayer life?

Pray: Father God, we don’t always understand Your methods. You allow a lot of things we’d rather not have to go through or experience. But let this not be a barrier to us in trusting in Your motives towards us. You always desire our ultimate good and are always working things towards that end. Fill us with Your Spirit so we can understand and embrace this as we persevere in prayerful trust in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.