Hannah’s Offering: Giving Back to the God Who Provides

By Gabi Bemis

“When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, ‘After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.’ ‘Do what seems best to you,’ her husband Elkanah told her. ‘Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word.’ So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, ‘Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there.”—1 Samuel 1:21–28 (NIV)

Have you ever fasted or abstained from something for a certain period of time? In the Christian faith, it’s not uncommon to seek God and ask Him for specific help or breakthrough. But have you ever promised God your very own child? That’s a significant offering! Hannah made a vow to God that if He gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord and raise him to serve in His house. Hannah asked God for a child and then gave the very thing she longed for back to the Lord. Her posture teaches us three key lessons:

Faith Requires Action

Hannah didn’t passively pray for a son; she put her faith into action by making a vow to God. Her vow was a display of her trust in the God of Israel and, when the time came, she fulfilled her promise. Hannah’s faith in God was demonstrated through her actions, revealing her intimate and personal relationship with Him. Similarly, we can trust God and put our faith into action by believing and living according to His Word and His character.

Everything Belongs to God

Often, we ask God to meet our needs and wants, whether for a job, financial provision, a home, a family, or other blessings. When God grants these blessings, we can sometimes view them as solely for our own enjoyment. But not Hannah. She understood her blessing of motherhood was only possible because of God’s sovereignty, and she acknowledged her son ultimately belonged to Him. God, in His power, opened her womb and allowed her to conceive, and so she returned to Him what was His all along. Similarly, everything we have is a blessing from God’s gracious hand, and we ought to thank Him for His faithful provision.

God Is Worthy of Our Worship

When it was time for Hannah to take Samuel to the temple, she didn’t go empty handed. She brought sacrifices—a bull, flour, and wine—to the tabernacle as a recognition of God’s miraculous hand in her life. Hannah went from barren to blessed, and the catalyst for her redemption was God. She worshiped not because of what He gave her but because of who He is. God is the sovereign miracle worker who sees us in our distress and mends our broken hearts. Hannah’s worship flowed from her understanding that the ultimate gift wasn’t Samuel, it was God Himself. We, too, can worship freely when we realize this truth.

Hannah’s story reminds us that faith in God demands action. We can pray and act on our faith, trusting God to work, we can offer everything we have to Him in surrender, knowing it all belongs to Him, and we can worship God wholeheartedly because He is the true gift. Even in our places of shame, where we feel unseen or forgotten, God is faithfully at work to redeem and restore.

Pause: Is there something you’re praying intently for? How can you put your faith in action in this specific area of your life? (i.e., committing to pray daily, spending time in God’s Word).

Practice: Write of list of things you’re grateful for. Where can you acknowledge God’s hand in those blessings? How can you commit or give those things back to God as an offering? For example, your family is a gift from God, so you can commit to praying daily as a family.

Pray: Lord, You’re the God who sees me in my places of brokenness and works out Your perfect plan of redemption. Thank You for the blessings You’ve given me. There are simply too many to count. Show me, Holy Spirit, how I can give an offering of thanksgiving to God for all He’s given me and how I can put my faith in action for the things I’m praying for now. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.