The Lord Hears

1 Samuel 2:1-7

(Hannah’s Song, Part 1)

1“My heart rejoices in the LORD!

Oh, how the LORD has blessed me!

Now I have an answer for my enemies,

as I delight in your deliverance.

2No one is holy like the LORD!

There is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

3“Stop acting so proud and haughty!

Don’t speak with such arrogance!

The LORD is a God who knows your deeds;

and he will judge you for what you have done.

4Those who were mighty are mighty no more;

and those who were weak are now strong.

5Those who were well fed are now starving;

and those who were starving are now full.

The barren woman now has seven children;

but the woman with many children will have no more.

6The LORD brings both death and life;

he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.

7The LORD makes one poor and another rich;

he brings one down and lifts another up.”

Psalm Link

Psalm 126:5

Those who plant in tears

will harvest with shouts of joy.

A young man from Ontario, Canada, went to Chicago to make a fortune. He started with sixty dollars, with which he purchased a cheese wagon and a horse named Paddy. He bought cheese on credit from a wholesale merchant and tried to sell it. Although he woke up at three in the morning and worked hard all day, he ended his first year three thousand dollars in debt and with no credit left.

He thought the only one he could talk to was his horse, and so he discussed the problem with Paddy. To his surprise he seemed to hear a voice saying, “You’re trying to work without God.” The young man looked around, saw no one, and then said, “Paddy, get up. If God can do any better with this cheese business than we’ve done, we’ll let him.”

So young James Kraft entered a partnership with God, and for the rest of his life he continually asked God’s guidance. When he discovered a way to preserve cheese, his business grew fantastically, and Kraft cheese became a household name.

Before Hannah composed her song of praise to God, she, too, experienced great struggles. But finally, when she was at her lowest and her self-esteem was all but gone because of her childlessness, Hannah prayed to the Lord, and he granted her request for a son. That’s what Hannah’s song is all about.

In what ways can you sing Hannah’s song today?

Just when I am disheartened, just when with cares oppressed,

Just when my way is darkest, just when I am distressed,

Then is my Savior near me, He knows my every care;

Jesus will never leave me; He helps my burden to bear.

J. BRUCE EVANS

Bible Networking

Read Luke 1:46-55 and note the similarities between Hannah’s song and Mary’s Magnificat.

Notable Quotable

“What we win by prayer, we may wear with comfort, and must wear with praise.”

MATTHEW HENRY