Mothers of the Bible - Part Three
I want to end this week with one of my favorite godly mothers, Hannah.
Hannah
She was the mother of Samuel, the man who eventually became one of Israel’s greatest prophets. It is an incredible story in 1 Samuel; Hannah was unable to have children. This was considered a big no-no in that culture. For years she dreamed, hoped, and prayed for a baby. Finally God answered her prayer, and Hannah conceived a child. It was a son. Her hope was at last fulfilled. But here is where the story gets good. After the child was weaned, Hannah made good on a promise that she made to God before Samuel was born. Hannah took her baby to the temple, where she dedicated him to God. Then she did what most of us could never do….she left him there. From that moment on Samuel was raised at the temple by the priest Eli.
Now I’m not saying to take your child to church, dedicate him to God, and then leave him there for the rest of his life to be raised by the pastor. But I can’t help but think that this story shows us strong examples of things moms can do to fight for their kids. So today I write this for moms of teenagers.
Hannah fought back with prayer. She never gave up on God. She believed that God could answer prayer, and she purposefully gave her circumstance over to God. This story is a reminder that God’s timing is never wrong. Even though Hannah couldn’t see the big picture, she still believed that God was in full control.
I want my children to do amazing things for God. This is what Hannah prayed for in 1 Samuel 1:27-28:
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”
When Hannah prayed “I give him to the Lord”, she was praying that Samuel would leave a legacy worth remembering. Samuel found favor with God and left a legacy worth remembering as we find in 1 Samuel chapter 3.
Isn’t this what we as parents desire for our children? Absolutely. You might ask, how can my children find such favor with God? The answer is that there is no greater legacy a parent could desire to leave than that of a child who truly learns to worship God.
Have an amazing Mothers Day!
