As the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and his rule over this world draws near, the Church is undergoing change. It is moving out of its present “do your own thing” phase, and into a kingdom-rule order of things. (In effect, out of the book of Judges and into the first book of Samuel.) Under King David’s rule, the tribes saw their national identity established in the form of a kingdom. The prophet Samuel was the link between the time of the Judges and the introduction of the monarchy.
But it was Hannah, Samuel’s mother who, in gifting her precious son to God, played a vital part in bringing about a new beginning. God still uses believers who are willing to do the kind of thing that Hannah did — each one in his or her own situation — to bring new beginnings. Hannah’s desires and what is needed for us to bring new life to barren ministries and spiritually dead churches show us:
1. THAT TWICE AS MUCH AS WHAT WE HAVE WILL NOT SATISFY OUR DEEPEST NEED
“But to Hannah [her husband] gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah; but the Lord had shut up her womb.” (1 Samuel 1:5) Hannah’s husband loved her, even though not having a son was a reproach in those days. So he gave his wife a double portion, thinking that would make her feel better. But doubling what we have will not provide what our churches need. Doubling church numbers through ‘transfer growth’ is nowhere near as exciting as an influx of newly “born again” believers.
2. THAT A GREATER APPRECIATION OF WHAT WE HAVE CANNOT SUBSTITUTE FOR THAT DEEP NEED
“Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8) Only a husband could make such an insensitive statement! Hannah’s husband was trying his best to console his wife. We can look around us every day and thank God for what we have, and yet know that it doesn’t satisfy.
Many will tell us that we’re so blessed, but the pain still remains. The one thing we desire—and that alone—will bring the joy that comes from getting what we desire most in life. Nothing satisfies like a heaven-sent revival! Not feeding the poor. Not marriage betterment seminars. Not even a church social fabric of loving, caring Christians.
3. THAT THE DEEP DESIRE OF OUR HEART LINKS US TO THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD
Hannah prayed to the LORD through tears of bitterness. She “vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life…” (1 Samuel 1:10, 11)
Note the connection between Hannah’s “if” and her “then” (Draw a line between them.) Hannah’s gift to God of her son was conditional on her prayer being answered. The desire of her heart would then be linked to the LORD for life. Don’t make a vow that you are not prepared to keep! If you pray for a spiritual awakening in your church, and you link its fulfillment to a personal vow, be prepared to sacrifice what you promised when you prayed.
If your heart is for missions, what if the Lord were to call your son to serve on one of the more dangerous mission fields? Hannah fulfilled her vow and “returned” her son Samuel to the Lord for lifetime service as a priest. Costly spiritual sacrifices are not refundable.
4. THAT WE NEED TO NURTURE WHAT GOD HAS PRODUCED IN RESPONSE TO OUR PRAYERS
“The child Samuel ministered before the LORD clothed with a linen ephod. Moreover, his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband (to Jerusalem) to offer the yearly sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 2:18,19) Elkanah’s mind may have been on his religious duty, but as mothers would know, Hannah’s mind would have been on the health and growth of her boy!
Your equivalent to Hannah’s annual coat replacement will likely be what is needed by the product of your answered prayers. If you’ve prayed for a church in your area, your support will continue long after the church building is constructed, furnished and equipped. The answer to your prayers may well include lifelong commitment.
If that is the price, are you prepared to pay it? Until Samuel began ministering, “the word of the LORD was precious (valuable because of its scarcity): there was no open vision.” (1 Samuel 3:1) There were scrolls galore filled with God’s word, but there was no prophetic message for the moment. If there is one word that describes the night when that changed it is “insistent”! The LORD’S threefold calling of Samuel’s name is not matched anywhere else in the Bible.
5. THAT WE MUST BE WILLING TO ACCEPT WHATEVER A NEW MOVE MIGHT BRING
Any genuine spiritual awakening has its physiological effects, such as “falling under the power of God”. Intellectuals loathe such manifestations, and staid evangelicals’ frown on them with much-practiced displeasure. The anointing had a physiological effect in Samuel’s day: it made ears tingle! (Lord, change our itching ears to tingling ones!) The idea of a feelings-free spiritual awakening is as unnatural as it is unscriptural. We are living, breathing people, not controlled scripture-spouting androids.
Samuel’s new vision spoke not only of the end of the old era but also of God’s judgement on it. The beginning of a new move may end an old one and judge one that outgoing leaders have allowed it to become (1 Samuel 3:12). There is pathos in Eli’s epitaph: “He was an old man, and heavy.” Eli’s spirituality had been drained by his appetite for food and his sons’ desire for women.
The prophet Samuel’s ministry was the connecting link between the sunset era of the Judges and the dawning era of the Kingdom. The hidden link between the two was Hannah. Her determined vow and ongoing sacrifices helped bring a new beginning. Our willingness to ‘place on the altar’ people and things that are very precious to us will cause God to bring new beginnings to our churches — and maybe even our nation.