Desperate Prayers

Desperate Prayers

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. 1 Samuel 1:10

HANNAH WAS DESPERATE FOR A CHILD and prayed her heart out. She even made a deal with God—not always a good idea, but this one served his purposes. At a time when righteous servants were lacking, she would dedicate her child to his service if he gave her one. And when she went to the Tabernacle to make this vow, she prayed so passionately and intensely that the priest thought she was drunk. Discovering her true purpose and her fervent petition before the Lord, he blessed her to receive whatever she had asked for. And she went home with the assurance of faith.

God answers desperate prayers. We see that more than once in Scripture. It’s evident in the Exodus, when his people cried out for deliverance; in the period of the judges, when his people repeatedly begged for his intervention in situations they had created through their own idolatry; in the Psalms, when David and others were in desperate situations and pleaded with God for rescue; in the books of the prophets, when Israel and Judah were being disciplined for their sin and turning their backs on God; in Acts, when Peter was in prison and the believers gathered to pray all night for his release; in Revelation, when saints and martyrs cry out for justice; and in plenty of situations in between. But desperation alone, though it moves God’s heart, does not prompt his response. Hannah received not because she was desperate but because she went home believing. Her faith was part of her process.

God takes pity on the oppressed, the hurting, the brokenhearted, the weak, and the vulnerable. We are invited to come to him in any condition and pour out our hearts, even as passionately and incoherently as Hannah seemed to be doing when the priest thought she was drunk. But somewhere along the way, faith becomes part of the equation. The pleas of the desperate turn into trust in the Father who loves them. Many psalms begin in crisis but end in praise, even before God has intervened. Some people let desperation drive them from God; others let it drive them into his presence. Hannah did the latter and received the blessing she longed for.

Prayer is love in need appealing to love in power.