To download this sermon for future reference: Choose "Save As" from the file menu on your browser and save it as a text document. or You may also copy or highlight the sermon text and choose "Copy" on your edit menu. Open any text application and choose "Paste" on your edit menu. Select "Save" on your file menu to save the sermon to your hard drive. Ken Trivette Series: A Spiritual EKG #5 THE GRIEVED HEART OF HANNAH (5 of 6) I Samuel 1: 8 1. In Herbert Lockyer's book, "All The Women Of The Bible," his title for Hannah is, "The Woman Who Personifies Ideal Motherhood." He writes, "All that is recorded of this mother, who was one of the most noble Hebrews that ever lived, is an inspiration and benediction." 2. Hannah is an inspiration as a wife, as a mother, and as a Christian. She is a model for every wife, mother, and every believer. We first meet her with a sad heart and before the story is over we see her with a glad heart. 3. When you look at Hannah one quickly assesses that she has a good heart. But yet one is made aware that she has a grieving heart. We read in 1 Samuel 1:8, "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?" 4. Her husband asked, "Why is thy heart grieved?" As we have taken our Spiritual EKG's, we have seen: ? The Hard Heart Of Pharaoh. ? The Turned Heart Of Solomon. ? The Proud Heart Of Uzziah. ? The Sorrowful Heart Of Nehemiah. ? Now we see The Grieving Heart Of Hannah. 5. Let's consider the grieving heart of Hannah and as we take another Spiritual EKG, lets consider the condition of our own hearts. 1. WE SEE A PERPLEXED HANNAH! 1. At the beginning of I Samuel, we learn about the home life of Hannah. Her husband's name was Elkanah. He is described as a devout man. Notice verse 3 , "And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh." In all appearances, Hannah seemed to have a husband that loved the Lord. 2. He not only loved the Lord, but he also loved Hannah. Notice verse 5 , "But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah." Hannah had a husband that loved her deeply. 3. Yet, as you look at the story there was a heavy cloud that darkened her home and spiritual life. A. The Affliction That Troubled Her. 1. We read in verse 2, "but Hannah had no children." Also in verse 5 we read, "the Lord had shut up her womb." Hannah was barren and childless. For some reason, the Lord had not seen fit to allow her have children. 2. Hannah is among several notables in the Bible that were barren. There was: * Abraham & Sarah * Isaac & Rebekah * Jacob & Rachel * Manoah * Zacharias & Elizabeth 3. In each case of barreness we find there was great distress and grief. Barreness was often considered a sign of God's displeasure. A barren women was held in reproach. 4. The barren condition of Hannah as well as the other barren women of the Bible reminds us the spiritual barreness that is often found in the life of believers & churches. 5. God never meant for His people to be barren. Psalm 1:3, "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Matthew 13:23, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." John 15:8, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." Psalm 92:14, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing." B. The Adversary That Taunted Her. 1. Another heavy cloud that darkened her home and life was Peninnah, the other wife of her husband. We read in verse 2, "Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children." 2. It seems that Peninnah rubbed it in Hannah's face that she had children and Hannah didn't. We read in verse 6, "And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb." 3. The word "adversary" speaks of someone that causes another great distress and anguish. The word "provoked" speaks of causing grief and sorrow. 4. We read that this taunting went on year after year. Notice verse 7 , "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." 5. Peninnah's behavior reminds of the way the children at school treated a little adopted boy. They were all the time teasing him about being adopted. One day he came home crying about it. His mother pulled him up close and said, "Johnny, let me tell you about the day we chose you as our son. We went to the hospital and looked at all kinds of babies. We looked at big babies and little babies. We looked at pretty babies and ugly babies. We could have had any of those babies we wanted, but out of all those babies we picked you." The next day, the children started teasing the little adopted boy again. He said to them, "One day my mommy and daddy went to the hospital to get a baby. They looked at big/little/pretty/ugly babies and out of all those babies they picked me. But when you came along, your mommy and daddy had to take what they got." 6. The taunting of Peninnah reminds us of how our adversary laughs at our barreness and mocks our fruitlessness. This old world looks on the believer and church as a joke. 7. Hannah had a grieved heart. May I say, our hearts ought to be grieved at our barreness and fruitlessness. 1. We See A Perplexed Hannah! 2. WE SEE A PRAYING HANNAH! 1. Hannah may have been barren, but we see that she could not be reconciled to a childless and fruitless life. The Psalmist said in Psa.142:2, "I poured out my complaint before Him; I shewed before Him my trouble." That's what we see Hannah doing. 2. None of us should ever be reconciled with a barren life. Our barreness ought to drive us to God in prayer. 3. Notice how Hannah prayed. A. She Prayed Earnestly. 1. Notice verse 10, "And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore." 2. Joseph Parker wrote, "What is prayer if it be not the heart in a blaze? Prayer is not mere articulation; prayer is not mere words. Prayers are battles: prayers are the thunders which call for God when He seems to be far away." 3. We read in James 5:16, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." 4. Here was something she wanted more than anything. See the burden of her heart. See the tears as they run down her face. Feel the cry of her heart as she prays. 5. Andrew Murray said, "Desire is the soul of prayer, and the cause of insufficient or unsuccessful prayer is very much to be found in the lack or feebleness of desire." B. She Prayed Specifically. 1. Notice verse 11, "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." 2. Notice how specific she was in prayer. She asked God for a child. It was much more than praying in general, "Lord bless me." But notice that she not only asked for a child but for a son. She was specific in prayer. 3. Spurgeon said, "To make prayer of any value there should be definite objects for which to plead." C. She Prayed Continually. 1. Notice verse 12, "And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth." 2. I think of what George Mueller said, "It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must pray patiently, believing, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer." 3. Mueller began praying for 5 unsaved friends. After 5 years, one was saved. After 10 more years, two more were saved. Mueller once said, "I have prayed for 2 men by name every day for 35 years; on land or sea, sick or well, I have remembered them before God by name. . .I shall continue to pray for them daily, by name, until they are saved, or die." After 35 years of prayer, the fourth was saved, and the fifth was saved just after Mueller's death. 4. What about us? Are we deeply disturbed about our barreness? Are we praying like Hannah that God would give us fruit? 1. We See A Perplexed Hannah! 2. We See A Praying Hannah! 3. WE SEE A PRAISING HANNAH! 1. When a person get serious and gets down to business with God, then things will began to happen. Hannah's grief was turned into glory. Her perplexity was turned into praise. A. The Assurance She Received. 1. Eli the priest was observing the whole scene. He watched Hannah as she prayed, and at first thought she was drunk. Oh, that we would get so broken about things as they are that others would wonder what was wrong with us! 2. Notice verse 15, "And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunken neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord." 3. Hannah said, "I'm not drunk. My heart is broken. I am barren and I want God to hear me." It was then that she received a promise that God would answer her prayer. Notice verse 17, "Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." 4. Do you realize that we have received God's promise that he will answer our prayers. ? Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." ? Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." ? 1 John 5:14, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." B. The Answer She Received. 1. One morning Hannah got up and made a bee-line for the bathroom. Elkanah came in and found her on her knees in front of the commode. "What's wrong sweetheart?" She said, "I'm sick. Go town to Food Lion and get me some pickles and ice cream and quit looking at me that way, I know I'm not pretty anymore." 2. We read in verse 20, "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." 3. God heard and answered her prayer. I love the name she gave to her baby. She called him "Samuel," which means "asked of God" or "God heard." 4. Hannah held in her arms "answered prayer." Samuel was a daily evidence that God answers prayer. 5. Do you have a "Samuel?" What can you point to and say, "This is what God gave me!" 6. In the book "Against The Tide," the story is told of amazing answer to prayer in the life of Watchman Nee. Nee and a group of young men had decided to spend a few days in a village named Mei-hwa and preach the gospel. They preached for nine days but there was no response to the Gospel. The people were too pre-occupied with the festivities that were going on in worship of their god Ta-Wang. One of the young men, frustrated that people would not listen asked, "What's wrong? Why don't you believe?" He was told about Ta-Wang, a god that was wholly dependable and had for the past 286 years, provided sunshine on the day the festival was held in his honor. The day of festival was always set by divination. That year's date had been set for the 11th. The young man responded by saying, "Then I promise you, our God, who is the true God, will make it rain on the 11th." They answered by saying, "Say no more. If there is rain on the 11th, then your Jesus is indeed God. We will be ready to hear Him." Watchman had been preaching elsewhere and when he heard what the young man had done he was horrified. He told the young man that he had put the Lord's honor at hazard and had lightly committed Him to something He might not be willing to support. Watchman knew that if God did not support what the young man had done, they would never be able to reach the people with gospel. They began to pray. God spoke to the heart of Watchman and gave him the assurance it would rain on the 11th. So clear was this assurance that Watchman and the others went out and began to tell everybody it was going to rain on the 11th. They were awakened on the morning of the 11th by the sun's rays coming through the windows. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was already past 7 o'clock. He got on his knees and once again God assured him it would rain. They sat down to breakfast. Again they bowed their heads and before they said "Amen," they heard rain drops hitting the roof. Watchman said, "Let's give thanks again," and before they were through praying the rain was coming down in buckets full. The street outside was already filled with water and was up to the third step of their house. Outside, the worshippers were carrying their idol of Ta-Wang in a sedan chair when the downpour came. The rain fell so hard the bearers stumbled and fell. Down went the chair and Ta-Wang with it, fracturing his jaw and his left arm. Still determined, they carried out emergency repairs and put him back in his seat. Slipping and stumbling, they carried him around until they knew they were defeated. The procession was stopped and the idol taken back to the temple. Then they said, "Today was the wrong day. The festival is to be on the 14th with the procession at six in the evening." Watchman and the young men again sought God in prayer and prayed, "Lord, send us rain at 6:00 p.m. on the 14th and give us four fine days until then." The 14th broke, and it was another perfect day. As the evening approached they met, and again at the appointed hour took the matter to God in prayer. At exactly 6:00 p.m. torrential rains and floods came as before. Satan's power had been broken and God's power manifested. 7. We need some "Samuel's!" Samuel's come from "grieving hearts." Hebert Lockyer, "All the Women of the Bible" Joseph Parker, "Preaching Through The Bible" Vol.3 Quoted by Wesley L. Duewel in "Mighty Prevailing Prayer." COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this database is protected by copyright and International Law, and is solely owned by it's authors. 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