The God StorySample

Desperate Cry

Father God, what I know of You will only ever be a fraction of who You are. Jesus, open my mind to see You and understand the Scriptures. Spirit, move my heart from familiar to fascinated until it is set ablaze with Your unfailing love.

Read: Psalm 121:1-2

Today, I am reflecting on a crisis moment in The God Story, where it appears the plot is hanging by a fragile thread. The chosen people have rejected God’s ways, and a vacuum of spiritual leadership means ‘everyone did what was right in their own eyes’ (Judges 21:25). At this hinge-point in history, a hero was required, or rather a heroine. Step forward Hannah, a humble, broken-hearted, barren woman.

Read: 1 Samuel 1:10-18

Hannah is a woman experiencing the unspeakable agony of infertility. When Eli questions her unusual prayer style, Hannah says ‘I was pouring out my soul to the LORD’. Hannah instinctively knows the searing heartbreak filling up her soul must be prayed! She knew if she did not pray out her sorrow, it would destroy her. So she holds nothing back. Hannah pours everything out before the face of her compassionate God.

Father, thank you that You never invalidate my pain but rather meet me in it. Thank you for the invitation to pour out my soul before You today - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Help me to trust the transformational power of Your presence.

Pause and pray

Father, today I pray for someone I know who is struggling with the pain of infertility. Would You graciously and tenderly meet them as they pour out their longing to You?

Pause and pray

As the books of Samuel and Kings unfold, they tell of the incredible rise of the nation of Israel through the leadership of David and Solomon. Hannah’s son, Samuel, whom she promised to give back to God, became instrumental in the nation’s ascent. These glory days of Israel can be traced back to the heart-cries of a barren, but fully surrendered, godly woman. Hannah’s example reminds me that my ‘broken hallelujah’ prayers may be transformed into songs of joy, and the outpouring of an honest heart can be the receptacle for the dreams of God.

Father, Your word says the sacrifice You desire is a broken and contrite heart. So I give You mine again today, trusting that my prayers of desperation can become the birthplace of breakthrough.

Amen.