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The desire of Jewish women to be the mothers of families was connected with religious feeling: children were regarded as a blessing from the Lord, and the withholding of them was considered a token of the Divine displeasure. That this was the fact, we might bring many instances from the Old Testament to prove. Rachel, on the birth of her firstborn, said, "God hath taken away my reproach." Here, then, she felt her only resource was prayer; "she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore." This sort of supplication never fails: "thus saith the Lord, I have heard thy prayer; I have seen thy gears." Tears and prayers! happy is it for the mourner when these are united. Tears are barren in themselves; they express sorrow, but not humiliation — not faith. We have only to remark, further, the humility, with which she offered her most precious treasure to the Lord: she brought a large additional offering of her substance, and immediately before the presentation of her son to Eli she caused a bullock to be slain as a burnt offering. This was the Jewish sin offering, foreshadowing the blood of the Atonement: in her case,. it clearly proved that she was deeply conscious there was nothing meritorious in her surrender of her son; that, as a sinful mother offering a sinful child, she had a favour to seek, rather than one to offer; and that she only hoped for acceptance, either for herself or her child, through the blood of the atonement.

1. With regard to THE OCCASIONS OF PRAYER. "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray; I called upon the Lord in trouble, and the Lord heard me at large." Far be it from me to imply that the time of trouble is the only time for prayer. But, whether or not they can understand the reason of God's dealings with them, let me impress upon their minds that the time of trouble is the special time for prayer; let them, in this respect, mark Hannah's example. There is a temptation to flee from God in trouble; the disinclination to prayer is, in many cases, never greater than then; the natural inclination is to wrap up the heart in the sullenness of its own grief — to seek a morbid pleasure in excluding everything that tends to comfort. I would take this opportunity of saying a word upon a subject, perhaps too little thought of; I mean, the suitability of God's house for private prayer.

2. Let us say a word about ITS CONDITIONS. Hannah vowed a vow unto the Lord, "if Thou wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life." What we desire you to gather from this is, that we must never ask for anything which we cannot, or will not devote to the service of God. Lot us examine the case of Hannah as a fair example. She wished for a son: the wish was natural; but was it safe? was she not wishing for an object of affection, that would too probably, if granted, prove an idol? We cannot deny the likelihood: see, then, how in making the request she recognised and provided against the danger; Give me a son, O Lord; and I will give him back to Thee: I dare not trust myself to ask the unqualified gift; my present feelings tell me how dangerous it would be. Now all prayer, in order to be acceptable to God or profitable to ourselves, must be associated with this kind of condition. In asking for spiritual grace, the condition cannot be separated from the prayer; we only ask for greater ability to devote ourselves to God, and to "glorify him in our body and in our spirit which are God's."

3. And, lastly, we are taught a lesson respecting THE ANSWER OF PRAYER. With the answer to prayer will always come the temptation to forget the vow that accompanied it. I need not tell you that there may be a wide difference between a gift and a blessing. Children are gifts, but sometimes no blessings; look at Hophni and Phinehas, the wicked sons of Eli. Wealth is a gift; intellectual and physical power, friends, good health and spirits are all gifts, but very often no blessings: we cannot but desire them; we are permitted and encouraged to ask them; but, if we get them, let us remember the condition: the condition and the blessing are bound together; without the one, there is no acceptable prayer; without the other, there is no profitable answer. Everything that relates to our happiness depends upon God's favour; unless we have this, we may have all our natural desires gratified, but leanness withal in our souls. Let us, then, seek this first, and all things else shall be added unto us. And, above all, in seasons of affliction do not let us suppose that everything depends upon a change of circumstances; do not let us resolve not to be happy, until something is given, or something is withdrawn: but let us, in humble trust, put our case in God's hands.

(T. E. Hankinson, M. A.)

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KJV: For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

WEB: For this child I prayed; and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him.