[Hannah} was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

1 Samuel 1:10-11

While driving between a couple of stops across Cincinnati this afternoon, I listened to a podcast that used the following verse –

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1

The pastor used that passage to begin to explain the power of persistent prayer. If an unrighteous judge will eventually give in to a woman’s plea, then what can we expect from a good and just Heavenly Father?

And so, this evening, my mind turned to Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Notice her demeanor as she prayed before the LORD. She was “deeply distressed” and made what some might call a desperate vow. A woman who had no children, wanted a child only to return him to the LORD?

Have you ever prayed from a position of being heartbroken about a person you care about or a situation out of your control? I’ll raise both hands here and so I read Hannah’s story with sense of expectation because of who God is and how he uses our circumstances for our good.

For Hannah, the LORD answered her prayer and she kept her promise, delivering Samuel to the house of the LORD when he was just a young boy. And the LORD continues to bless Hannah as “she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:21).

What are you praying for today?