Faithly Prayers

By: Monique Smith

1 Samuel 1: (1-28) In summary, Hannah was married to Elkanah, who also had another wife, Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. Even though Hannah didn’t have children, the most prized possessions back in the day, Elkanah still loved her and would always give her a double portion of meat after he offered a sacrifice. But others picked on Hannah because she did not have kids. Even though Elkanah ASSURED her that he loved her regardless, she was still hurt by being childless. So, she did what any true believer would do. She prayed to the Lord. “…Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears” (1 Samuel 1: 10), this was no ordinary light hearted prayer, but this was a sincere prayer prayed with unwavering FAITH! She asked the Lord to give her a son and she promised that she would give the son back to Him. Lo and behold, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16), Hannah had a son! God honored her faith in Him! After I read this story, it immediately spoke to my spirit because honestly, going along with my previous devotional, internally, I deal with doubt after I pray my prayers. Since I am so stuck on this immediate thing with God, when I pray, and it seems like it will take a while to get answered, I have to continually encourage myself to not doubt! But I want to stop that! I honestly already know and have witnessed God’s faithfulness in soooo many different arenas of my life so there is NO reason whatsoever that I should EVER doubt Him! If this is your same deal, let’s pray:

Dear God! We love you! We adore you! We are overly thrilled that you have blessed us with another day to witness your glory on this earth! Father, please help our unbelief! Help us control our sinful bodies and mind that wants to discredit your faithfulness and not truly believe. God, give us the faith of Hannah! Thank you Lord for allowing us to read about her and understand the power of prayer even more! Give us the gift of faith so we will not be shaken! God we love you! In Jesus name, Amen!