RTW 2023

Then Hannah prayed:“My heart rejoices in the LORD!The LORD has made me strong.Now I have an answer for my enemies;I rejoice because you rescued me.No one is holy like the LORD!There is no one besides you;there is no Rock like our God.‍

‍“Stop acting so proud and haughty!Don’t speak with such arrogance!For the LORD is a God who knows what you have done;he will judge your actions.The bow of the mighty is now broken,and those who stumbled are now strong.Those who were well fed are now starving,and those who were starving are now full.The childless woman now has seven children,and the woman with many children wastes away.The LORD gives both death and life;he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.The LORD makes some poor and others rich;he brings some down and lifts others up.He lifts the poor from the dustand the needy from the garbage dump.He sets them among princes,placing them in seats of honor.For all the earth is the LORD’s,and he has set the world in order.‍

‍“He will protect his faithful ones,but the wicked will disappear in darkness.No one will succeed by strength alone.Those who fight against the LORD will be shattered.He thunders against them from heaven;the LORD judges throughout the earth.He gives power to his king;he increases the strength of his anointed one.”

‍1 Samuel 2:1-10

And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:10

• Hannah was barren.
• Adding to the stress is the fact that her husband has another wife, and she has children.
• Hannah prayed to God for a son, promising she would give him back to God.
• Hannah brought Samuel to serve in the Tabernacle with the priest Eli.
• After leaving her child, she prays again…a prayer of praise.
• Hannah begins with praise for God’s acts on her behalf.
• Her rejoicing is in the Lord, not Samuel.
• Hannah’s prayer then allows others to listen and join in.
• She reminds people to boast in the Lord and not themselves.
• The last section of her prayer is poetic and beautiful.
• In all things, the LORD is sovereign.
• God’s actions are not random.
• Hannah realizes that God helps His people in their desperation and has a plan.
• Mary’s son in Luke 1:46-55 expresses similar themes.
• The last verse stands out.
• Israel had no king.
• Hannah speaks of the “Anointed One”.
• Hannah speaks of Christ.

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Join in Hannah’s prayer of praise…. Praise God for who He is!!! Look for that daily in my life.