She was in need. She might have been on the edge of bitterness. Her competitor took every chance to rub it in and make her hurt worsen. She had been married for some time, this Hannah, and was truly loved by Elkanah, her husband, but he had taken a second wife, which was accepted in that culture, because she had not given him any children. It appeared that she was barren and children were really important and she hurt.
The family went to worship and she was in no mood to worship. Her heart wasn't right and she didn't eat, only cried and this happened again and again, year after year, but this one time she did go in to pray, distressed and weeping and because of her need she poured her heart out to the Lord.
The Lord had created the need in her life. He had closed her womb. He knew Hannah thoroughly and knew that sooner or later she would do what she did. She promised her Lord that when He gave her a son, she would give him back and so she did just that and Samuel was born and dedicated to the Lord.
If there are needs in your life right now, be very thankful. Would we, without needs, automatically pour out our hearts to the Lord? I think not. God wants us to be real with Him. He demands truth from us and that means we must know and admit our need. We can be angry and frustrated with Him and tell Him exactly how we feel. He can take it. He has big shoulders and wants us to be honest with Him.
I'm sure Hannah, as a girl, dreamed of having children and looked forward to being a mother and we, also, have dreams and look forward to their fulfillment. The Bible is full of stories of people and every single one of them had needs and their stories show how God met those needs. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, had dreams of the sun and the moon and people bowing down to him. I am sure he had no idea what that entailed, but he looked forward to that happening. When he was sold as a slave and taken to a faraway land and landed in jail, through no fault of his, the dream appeared dead. No way was anyone going to bow down to a convict. Thirteen years were spent in prison before that dream came true and he was placed second in command next to Pharaoh in Egypt and people bowed before him.
Last year after "The Treasure is the Trip" went to press, I had a dream. I dreamed of people wanting to buy my book and read it and share it with others. I wanted people to find some benefit from my experiences with God and stimulate them to look to Him for the answers to their need. Today, some five months after it's release, my dream seems to be languishing and not much seems to be happening and I am finding a need again for pouring out my heart to the Lord. How will the Lord respond?
Philippians 4:19-20 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever."
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