Commemoration of Hannah
September 2
The Lord be with you
Hannah was the favored wife of Elkanah, the Ephraimite, and the devout mother of the prophet Samuel (Samuel is commemorated on August 20.) He was born to her after years of bitter barrenness (1 Samuel 1:6-8). After she weaned her son, Hannah expressed her gratitude by returning him for service in the house of the Lord at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:24-28). (In America, we are quick to wean our children, so you might think Samuel was 18 months or 2-years old. However, in the days of Hannah, children were not weaned until they were 5-years old, or even older.) Hannah’s prayer (psalm) of thanksgiving (1 Samuel 2:1-10) begins with the words “My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD.” This song foreshadows the Magnificat, the Song of Mary centuries later (Luke 1:46-55). The name Hannah derives from the Hebrew word for “grace.” She is remembered and honored for joyfully having kept the vow she made before her son’s birth and offering him for lifelong service to God (just as Mary did with Jesus centuries later).
Passages like Luke 24:27 and John 5:39 teach us that all Scripture is about Jesus. While no New Testament passage specifically refers to the miracle that brought about the birth of Hannah’s child as pointing towards the miracle of the birth of Jesus, in the spirit of Luke 24:27 it is reasonable to believe that this Old Testament miracle does point to Mary and the miracle of the birth of Jesus. In deed all “miracle” babies have this intent. However the ultimate miracle, the birth of Jesus to a virgin, is always the greater miracle which the other births point to.
Prayer: God the Father Almighty, maker of all things, You looked on the affliction of Your barren servant Hannah and did not forget her but answered her prayers with the gift of a son. So hear our supplications and petitions and fill our emptiness, granting us trust in Your provision, so that we, like Hannah, might render unto You all thankfulness and praise, and delight in the miraculous birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Other things Hannah might inspire us to pray about:
• For a richer prayer life
• For patience in trying circumstances
• For others in trying circumstances
• For the childless
• For a servant heart
• That the grace of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord, may reach others through us
Blessings in Christ
Pastor John Rickert