This is the prayer of Hannah after God answered her prayer. 

Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah. The other wife was Penninah, with whom Elkanah had ten sons. Sadly, Hannah was provoked by Penninah for she had no child. God closed her womb (1 Sam 1:6). Whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her. She wept until she lost the appetite to eat. 

In Shiloh, when Eli, a devoted high priest, saw Hannah stood up, he observed her mouth. It was moving but no words were coming out, for she was weeping and praying in her heart. So he thought she was drunk… He rebuked to put away wine but Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled… I have been praying here out of anguish and grief.” (v. 16)

Eli prayed for her, and God answered her prayer to have a child, whom she named later on as Samuel. Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for “heard by God.”

Let’s go through Hannah’s prayer of adoration and praise:

Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak with such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. (1 Samuel 2:1-3 NIV)

“The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:6‭-‬10 NIV)

As Hannah demonstrates the importance of incessantly praying to the Lord, may we follow her patience to never stop asking our Lord. The prayer she wrote is the outpour of her heart for the answered prayer. She further devoted her time to praise the Lord and acknowledge His Kingdom and Superiority. She even promised to dedicate her child, Samuel, to the Lord. And so she did! She was true to her promise. Samuel stayed with Eli as a helper. He cleaned, ran errands, and many other jobs to help the priest. Then one day, God spoke to Samuel. Oh, what a day must that be when Samuel heard the Lord, recognized it is the Lord’s voice, and eagerly replied “Speak, for your servant is LISTENING.”(1 Samuel 3:10)

When God answers our prayer, do we acknowledge our Lord? Do we have the Word of Honor to do as we promised? Or do we squander time and forget that everything was given by Him and belongs to Him?

Some prayers take time to get answered. Some prayers have answers like “no,” but when the answer is “yes—yes son, I hear you and will give you favor,” may we never forget Hannah’s response to the Lord through her prayer of adoration and praise, and her Word of Honor to do as she promised.

Like Samuel, may we continue to recognize the Lord’s voice, and listen.