Read I Samuel 1:1-28 Key verse: "I prayed for this child, and
the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the
LORD" (vss. 27,28)
How can this be?
Mary gave no thought to having a child. Why should she? She was a
virgin. Yet God wanted to implant in her the Light of Life. God's
plan was to give her this Life that the world might have everlasting
life. Hannah wanted nothing more than to have a child but she was
barren. Her earnest prayer for a child was answered and she was so grateful that she pledged that child to the LORD. The child named Samuel became
a great prophet, priest, and the one who anointed Israel's first king.
Mary's child became the great Prophet, Priest, and King. No wonder Mary asked,
" How can this be?"
God is the great life-giver. You may have a major disappointment in
your life that no amount of prayer seems to help. Hannah wanted a child
more than anything else on earth. She would go to Shiloh every year to
worship the LORD and beg Him for a child. She never gave up! Finally
she conceived and had a child. Yuo can be sure that God's plan for you
includes life. He wants to energize you with His life, power and love.
It may not come in the exact form you would like but it will come.
I was in a group that is studying the prayer of Jabez(I Chron.
4:9,10). He prayed, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my
territory and that Your hand would be with me." Sometimes we do not
know exactly what blessings God has for us but He does have them
for us. He wants to expand our territory by using us to bring His life
into dead and barren places. If we truly want His hand to be with us
and we ask for it, we will have it. The asking is important. Prayer
can really change things. The LORD is continually placing opportunities
in our lives to bring life to others. Christmas is a great time to
live out and speak out the truth of God's love in Christ.
When Hannah's prayer was answered she remembered her promise and gave
Samuel back to the LORD. All our blessings are from Him and should be
dedicated to Him. It is in giving back to God what He has given us
that life comes forth to make a difference in the world.
A good way to live is to ask God and then to give to God. It is just one of the great and amazing ways God works
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