How to Pray: According to Hannah

And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

1 Samuel 1:11

There is much that we can learn from Hannah's prayer in her time of misery. And both her prayer and God's answer to it have been the subject of many sermons. But what is often overlooked is the language of the prayer itself... the specific requests that Hannah makes of the Lord.

Hannah asks God to “look on her misery,” to “remember her” and to “not forget her.” These are all helpful phrases for us to remember and use in our personal prayers, because they capture something that’s common to all human experience.

It is a basic human need to know that someone cares about your pain, that someone is thinking about you, that you are not completely forgotten or overlooked. And it is good and right for you to take that need to God in prayer.

So, the next time you feel like no one sees you or no one cares, don’t sulk. Ask God to “remember you.” The next time you feel like no one understands your pain, don’t get mad at everyone else for not being able to understand your experience. Instead, turn to the one person who can. Pray and ask God to “look on your misery.” And the next time you aren’t invited to something and you feel overlooked and left out, pray and ask the Lord “not to forget you.” And comfort yourself with the knowledge that He never has.

And lastly, but perhaps most important of all. Don't forget to ask God specifically and directly for what you want. Hannah comes right out and asks God for a son. Don't let your prayers be general, fuzzy or unclear. Be specific. Don't be afraid to ask God for exactly what you want and need in prayer.   

Master of the House

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ”

Mark 13:33–37

Jesus gives us an analogy here for His second coming: that of a master of a house going on a long trip and leaving His servants to work and wait for his return.

The main point of this analogy is simple enough. Since his servants don’t know when their master might return, they must always keep watch to ensure they aren’t caught off guard or found sleeping when he arrives. We see this point illustrated most clearly in the keeper of the door. It’s his job to warn the house of the master’s approach and make sure a suitable welcome is ready when he arrives. So, he keeps watch at the door. It doesn’t matter if the master should come home in the middle of the night or the middle of the day, he must be watching and ready whenever he arrives.

There’s a second point here as well though. Jesus says in verse 34 that the master “puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task.” It isn’t enough to just watch for the master’s return; you also need to work. You need to faithfully do the task God has given you to do. You have to watch and work.

It reminds me of when I was in middle or high school and would stay home by myself during the summer. My mom would leave a list of jobs for me to do, and, of course, I would put them off until the end of the day. Then, suddenly I would look at the clock and realize that Mom was going to be home in 15 minutes. Then, I would run around like a crazy person trying to get an hour’s worth of work done in 15 minutes so my mom wouldn’t find me out.

I'm convinced that Jesus’ return is going to be like that for some Christians. The time for His coming is going to sneak up on them, and they will be embarrassed when their work is inspected. They will be embarrassed that they didn’t share the gospel with anyone, embarrassed that they didn’t use their spiritual gifts to serve the church, embarrassed that they laid up treasure on earth instead of in Heaven, embarrassed that they didn’t obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit to do those things God had specifically called them to do.

Do you know what your job is in the kingdom? Do you know what He has gifted you to do? What He has commanded you to do? If so, make sure you are working. Make sure you are watching. Make sure you are ready.

Jesus Warned Us

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Mark 13:21-23

False prophets and false teachers have always been a problem for the people of God. They are still a problem today. And this passage tells us that they will continue to be a problem in the end times.

Are you careful about whose sermons you listen to? Are you careful about whose books you read? Are you careful about what music you listen to? Not every song on Christian radio presents the truth of God’s Word without any mixture of error. Not every song that claims to be Christian is completely free of bad doctrine. Are you careful about what Christian memes or posts on social media you accept as true? Maybe you never gave much thought to all those “Christian” posts and memes, but they can shape your thinking as well. Do you know who wrote that post? Is it really true? Or does it just sound good? So, whether it’s a sermon or a song or a Bible Study or a social media post… you need to ask yourself if it agrees with Scripture? Is it biblically sound?

And that is all the more important because we know that false messiahs and false prophets WILL BE a problem in the end times. That is one major reason why you should be on your guard now. Even if you think that false teaching isn't much of a problem today, you have to admit that there will be false prophets and false messiahs in the end times. And that is why you need to practice identifying and avoiding false teaching now. Otherwise, it may be too late before you start guarding who you listen to and what you accept. So, you need to be on your guard against false teaching now! Jesus warned us about them, so we really have no excuse to fall into their traps.

Just Another Day

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

Mark 13:1

Jesus is less then three days out from His crucifixion and this disciple isn’t in the right head space. He doesn’t understand the significance of the moment he’s living in. Something momentous, something of cosmic importance, is about to happen in Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus is about to usher in a new stage of God’s plan to save men from our sins. But this disciple, seems to think it’s just another Tuesday.

If we aren’t careful, we will be just like this disciple. Living in the final stages of human history, but walking around thinking it’s just another day. It’s so easy for us to get distracted by the things of the world and the accomplishments of men. We live our lives talking about whether or not this president is going to get another four years, or how good that movie was, or where we are going on vacation. All the while, there are still entire people groups who haven’t heard the gospel. All the while, there are still languages without a Bible. All the while, there are still people in our world bowing down to idols. All the while, Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion (not Christianity). All the while, we are speeding towards Jesus’ return and more than 5 billion people are not saved!

So, hear me when I say... today is not just another day. Big things, earth shattering things, are headed our way. Maybe sooner… maybe later, but they are coming. If you are a believer then you need to keep your wits about you and you need to make sure you understand the moment you are living in. You need to be ready for Jesus' return.  

And if you have not yet given your life to Christ, then you need to know that "now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). Today could be the day God calls you to salvation. Let this be the day you respond in faith and fulfill that Scripture that says "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)  "For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:13)