Hannah’s Prophetic Prayer

Feature 1 – May 2019 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Hannah’s Prophetic Prayer

And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation” —1 Samuel 2:1 NKJV

This passage is the fourth time we read of Hannah praying. Surely she knew the value and importance of prayer. What was true of her was also true of her son Samuel. In 1 Samuel 1 she petitioned; in chapter 2 she praised. Hannah requested and then rejoiced, her heart full and overflowing with joy. From where did such joy come? It came from her Lord; her rejoicing was in Him. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). The apostle John said, “These things we write to you that your joy may be full” (1 Jn. 1:4).

Hannah was speaking out of the abundance of her heart. Praise, prayer and thanksgiving were true of Hannah and should be true of us as well. “In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).

She Spoke Of The Salvation Of The LORD
“My horn is exalted in the LORD” (1 Sam. 2:1). According to the Concise Bible Dictionary, horns “were worn in the East as a symbol of exaltation and power.” What Hannah had she saw as being wholly from the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord, and knowing this she could smile at her enemies.

She Spoke Of The Holiness Of The LORD
Hannah praised, “No one is holy like the LORD” (v.2). The prophet Isaiah recorded the seraphim, as one cried to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:3). In singing to the Lord, Moses and the children of Israel asked, “Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11).

She Spoke Of The Uniqueness Of The LORD
“There is none besides You” (1 Sam. 2:2). Moses said to Pharaoh, “There is no one like the Lord our God” (Ex. 8:10). A short time later the Lord said of Himself, “There is none like Me in all the earth” (9:14). David, as he sat before the LORD, said, “O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (1 Chr. 17:20). The one who filled Hannah’s heart is “matchless, incomparable, divine!”1 There is none besides Him and none like Him. “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me” (Isa. 46:9).

She Spoke Of His Power
In her prayer, Hannah continued, “... Nor is there any rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2). Many years later David said, “I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold ... The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock” (Ps. 18:1-2,46). Revelation 18:8 says, “Strong is the Lord God,” and Psalm 24:8 calls “the LORD strong and mighty.” “O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty like You, O LORD?” (89:8). Hannah knew the Lord as the one with whom nothing is impossible. He is the omnipotent, or all-powerful, God.

She Spoke Of His Knowledge
“The LORD is the God of knowledge” (1 Sam. 2:3). He is the omniscient One; He knows all things. The LORD declared, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isa. 42:9). David wrote, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me ... You understand my thought afar off ... There is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether ... Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” (Ps. 139:1-2,4,6).

She Spoke Of His Perfect Justice
Hannah added, “By Him actions are weighed” (1 Sam. 2:3). In the book of Daniel, God revealed to King Belshazzar, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (5:27) God’s scale is absolutely perfect, and He is not mocked. Whatever we sow, we will reap. He will, according to His righteous judgment, “render to each one according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6).

She Spoke Of Death And Resurrection
“The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up” (1 Sam. 2:6). We must consider the Lord Jesus: He went into death but did not remain there. On the third day He arose triumphantly. He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father (see Rom. 6:4).

She Spoke Of His Power In Creation
“The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them” (v.8) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The New Testament attributes all creation to the Lord Jesus: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (Jn. 1:3). “By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16).

She Spoke Of How He Works In People To His Glory
“The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble” (1 Sam. 2:4-5). The mighty men are contrasted with those who stumble, those who are full with those who are hungry, and those who are barren with those who had many children. The LORD is able to change lives and circumstances for His glory and the blessing of His people. Those who stumbled can be strengthened. The hungry can be satisfied. The barren can bear children. How great is our God! O for faith to trust Him.

She Spoke Of Him Who Was And Is Rich
“The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory” (vv.7-8). The Lord Jesus was the rich One. “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). “There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches” (Prov. 13:7). David, speaking prophetically of the Lord Jesus, said, “You have brought Me to the dust of death” (Ps. 22:15). As the poor one, He was raised from the dust. He is now crowned with glory and honor, seated at the right hand of God. Whether men acknowledge this fact or not, He is the King of Glory.

She Spoke Of Him Who Will Reign
“He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed” (1 Sam. 2:10). There is coming a day when the Lord Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth” (v.10). All judgment has been committed to the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. “The wicked shall be silent in darkness” (v.9).

My friend, will you spend eternity in darkness? Have you been delivered from the power of darkness, from the captivity of Satan? The Lord Jesus is the Great Deliverer. He is the only Savior. Believe on Him today and you will be delivered from “the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13).

Those who have believed have been “delivered ... from the power of darkness and conveyed ... into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). Believers are not in darkness; by the grace of God we are in the light. “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).

She Spoke Of How He Will Keep The Saints’ Feet
“He will guard the feet of His saints” (1 Sam. 2:9). This is a marvelous promise from our wonderful Lord. No matter in what age or dispensation His saints are found, the Lord has promised to keep their feet. David said, “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Ps. 18:36). He also asked the LORD to uphold his steps: “Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip” (17:5). “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).

The Holy Spirit gave Hannah this beautiful prophetic song, and we can be assured that all will be fulfilled for the glory of God.

ENDNOTE
* From the hymn, “O Wondrous Saviour! Jesus, Lord”, Miss S. M. Walker (1848-1918).

By Paul Palmer, Sr.