“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephriam, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”
1 Samuel 1:1-11
“And Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
1 Samuel 1:17-20
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4: 16
Has there ever been something that you so desperately wanted in life? You were so consumed by that desire that you would’ve done anything to receive it. There have been times in my own life that I have had desires that burned so deeply within me that all I could do was cry about them. Some of them turned into burdens that I felt like I had to carry all alone. I was in the perfect position of finding grace.
If you find yourself in a place such as this, take heart; you’re in good company. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah found herself in this same position. More than anything, Hannah longed for a son, but “the Lord had shut up her womb” (1 Samuel 1:5). To make matters worse, Peninnah, her husband’s other wife, had many children, and she taunted Hannah to the point that Hannah grieved. To add insult to injury, her husband did not understand at all. He thought he was worth more than any son Hannah could have. Perhaps this is because he still had children of his own with Peninnah, so he could not understand Hannah’s grief. He, himself, was not childless. As a mother though, I understand her grief.
Hannah had probably lost her sense of worth. She was a wife, but more than anything, she wanted to be a mother. How many of us have been in that position? She could’ve reacted in many ways. How many of us would’ve told Peninnah off, or told our husbands to be quiet and go away? What would you have done?
I’ll tell you what Hannah did: she went to the house of God to pray and plead with Him on her behalf. She prayed for God to intervene in the situation. When she had done all she could, she realized that the choice was up to God. I find myself in that same place quite often. It seems insignificant in today’s society to pray because we hear it so often: “just pray.” However, friend, that’s some of the greatest grace you can find, and you’ll find it at the feet of Jesus.
In Hebrews 4:16, it says “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Boldly approach His throne, friend. There’s no need to be timid or afraid of provoking God. God loves to hear His children cry unto Him. Are you finding grace yet, friend?
Therefore, when you find yourself in desperate need, call out to Jesus on your behalf, and you too can find grace. That’s not to say that you’ll get whatever your heart desires, but I am saying that He can give you what you need, and that is finding grace in time of need.
If you would like to read another devotional for encouragement, check out my first one “Communing with God.”