Meditation

Hi there,

For the next two days, we'll be copying Hannah's prayer of praise from 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Joyously extolling God's attributes and his sovereignty as she surrenders Samuel to God as she had promised.

In my efforts to improve my prayer life, I've worked through any number of formats and templates for prayer, which, on reflection, try to pack too much variety into one single moment of prayer.

As extensive and detailed as this song is, it's also simple, essentially doing just two things; praising God and enumerating his attributes and their effects.

This prayer derives its power from the accumulation of these attributes and the use of contrast to highlight their presence in our lives with their absence.

Today's text is 1 Samuel 2:1-5

Hannah’s Prayer

Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

² “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

³ “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

⁴ “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
​⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶ “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
​⁷ The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
​⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.

“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
​⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;
​¹⁰ those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Encouragement

This prayer of praise bears many resemblances to Mary's 'Magnificat' from Luke 1:46-55.

We won't be covering it in this season...but if you want to add that to your journal alongside Hannah's prayer for comparison, you can find it here.

Andy

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