Hannah’s Prayer

By David Norfleet

In Luke 11:1, one of Jesus’ disciples approached Him and asked “Lord, teach us to pray….”  I can relate to that question. At times I do not know what to ask for, what the wisest course of action is, or even how to properly ask for what is troubling me.  In Luke 11 Jesus responded to the question with what is known as the model prayer (Luke 11:1-8) to answer His disciple’s question.  And I believe God has responded to our unspoken need by filling His Word with great prayers to help us learn from and shape our own prayers.

One of the great prayers in Scripture is found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Overwhelmed by her childlessness, provoked by Peninnah, Elkanah’s second wife, and “comforted” by an emotionally deaf husband, Hannah “was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly” (1 Samuel 1:10). But God heard Hannah’s plea, she bore a son, honored her vow, and praised God for it.

Her prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 seems to bear little resemblance to the events that evoked it.  Instead of praying, “look at what God did for me,” Hannah’s prayer is, “look at who God is!”

Hannah thinks deeply about the character and power of God. She is making realizations about God that go far beyond her situation. “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation” (v. 1). She is awed by God’s unparalleled holiness (v. 2), unsearchable wisdom (v. 3), amazing power (v. 4), and unerring justice (vv. 9-10). Her own reversal of fortunes is just one of many examples of God exalting the humble and humbling the exalted (vv. 5-8).

Do you see what Hannah’s prayer of praise is about? It is not about her, but God. The answered prayer was not just about getting what she asked for, but what the answer taught her about the God who did the answering. Hannah thought about what God did in her life and drew much bigger conclusions about what kind of God He is.

The greatest praise comes when we see that God is up to much more than just attending to our requests. I am most impressed by Hannah’s perspective. She saw the big picture. She realized that what God had done for her on a small scale, He would do for all creation one day. She realized that if God can do this for her, what can’t He do? If God cares about a lowly childless wife from the hill country of Ephraim, who can lie outside God’s sphere of care?

Let Hannah teach us how to praise God well.

“I Just Have to Work It Out Myself”

By Norman Pence

Philippians 2:12 says “...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Does this mean when I have problems and become discouraged, I can withdraw and isolate myself from other Christians while I “work it out by myself”? The term, work out, comes from the Greek word which means to work out fully, to finish. Put another way it means to “make every effort to obtain salvation” (Thayer). The Book of Hebrews was written to a people much like us. They were very much discouraged and ready to give up on Christianity. The message of the Book of Hebrews is: you have so much more in Christ and have come so far, don’t give it up now. Instead of isolating themselves from each other, they should take advantage of the strength and encouragement that “each joint supplies” (Eph. 4:16). The writer tells them to “consider one another to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…” (Heb. 10:24-25).  He further says a failure to do this is “willful sin” for which there is “no more sacrifice” but only a “terrifying expectation of judgment” (Heb. 10:26-27).

Working out your own salvation doesn’t mean doing it yourself but rather complete your salvation.  God has done His part in sending His Son to die, He is now risen from the dead and is at God’s right hand. God’s gracious plan of redemption is now complete. The rest is up to each of us as individuals to finish our salvation through loving obedience to God and mutual encouragement and building up of one another. We should “confess our faults to one another and pray for one another” (Jas. 5:16), restore those who are overcome and help them bear their burden (Gal. 6:1-2), “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15), and pray at all times (Eph. 6:18). Perhaps too often we wait until we have a difficulty to overcome or wait until sin enters our life before we ask for the help and encouragement from other Christians instead of seeking their companionship and fellowship in order to prevent such.

“I just have to work it out myself” is one of the most destructive attitudes Satan plants in the minds of God’s people. Don’t believe it. “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Pet. 5:9). Take advantage of the encouragement and strength that can only come from God and those of “like precious faith” (2 Pet. 1:1). We cannot isolate ourselves and at the same time “bear one another’s burdens.” We cannot “provoke to love and good works” if we never associate with God’s family. We cannot overcome our depression if we never talk to God in prayer and listen to Him through a study of His word. Nearly everywhere the Apostle Paul went, especially on the 3rd journey, his first order of business was to look up the saints, to study, teach and pray with them and request their prayers on his behalf (Acts 20:7; 21:4, 17). He told the brethren at Rome, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me” (Rom. 1:11-12).  While we can’t impart spiritual gifts to one another, only the apostles had that power, we can give each other the gift of encouragement based on the mutual faith that we share. The phrase “I long” means “to intensely crave, or long for something.” Unfortunately, too many times what we “long for” the most in times of discouragement or weakness of faith on our part is to be left alone. This is contrary to everything the Gospel teaches. There are so many temptations and allurements in the world, and so many things that lead us astray.

The reason we should “fear and tremble” while working out our salvation is because there is great danger in losing our soul. If the soul is lost, all is lost.  And who can estimate the value of that soul which is in danger of being lost forever? May God help each of us to long for and be encouraged by the mutual faith we share.

Our Worship Service

By Arter Gary

It seems our worship services have become routine to many of us. Some seem to just be going through the motions in many of our activities. Some leave our services no better than when they came. 

Some members do not know what God expects of them when they assemble with the saints.  If we do not follow the scriptures and worship God in spirit and truth, we miss the whole concept of our worship services, John 4:24.  From the view of some, our services are boring. For others the services have become unbearable as they have quit attending.  Then you have those who say, “I didn’t get one thing out of the worship service today.”  The question becomes, “What did you put into it?”  Then you have those who feel the high point of the week is being able to gather together with other saints to worship God each time there is a service of the church.  What are some things we can do to make our worship acceptable?

The first thing is to make the necessary preparation.  As with everything there must be some preparation.  A good night’s sleep would be the place to start.  Prepare lessons and meditate upon them before leaving for the services.  Arrive early.  Greet each other and have time to speak to the visitors.  Find a seat and start meditating and praying about our worship.  Then each will be blessed because we have properly prepared to worship.

Then we must participate in each act of worship in the manner God has commanded.

When we sing, we must look at the words of the song.  Each song that we sing has a message in it.  Our song service does two things – we are offering praise unto God, and we are teaching and admonishing one another, Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12.  We must be an active participant in this.  Just sitting and listening is not sufficient if we are physically able to sing. 

When we pray, remember we are talking to our Father in Heaven.  We are either giving thanks to God for what He has done for us, or we are asking God for things we want or need.  The Christian life should be centered around prayer, 1 Thess. 5:17-18; John 14:14; Matt. 7:7-11 and 1 Pet. 3:12.

When we give, remember we are giving back to God a portion of the blessings that He has given to us.  Think about the material things God has blessed us with – jobs, homes, families and the portion of health that we enjoy, Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3: 10; 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 16:1-2.  Then give as we have prospered and with the right attitude .

When we partake of the Lords Supper, remember Christ died for us that we can have the forgiveness of our sins.  Remember when we eat the bread, Jesus offered His body as a sacrifice for us; and when we drink the fruit of the vine, remember Jesus shed His blood for our sins.  We are to remember His death and resurrection until He comes again, Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7.

When we are studying the word of God, remember God gives us instructions on how to live in this world acceptably to Him, John 7:16.  We should take every opportunity to study and meditate upon His word.  In our worship service we should follow along in our Bible to make certain the teacher or preacher is teaching the Word as God would have it taught, Acts 17:11.  Then make application to our lives, Rom. 1:16; Acts 2:42; 1 Thess. 2:13;  2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet 3:15.

Our worship must be offered in Spirit and Truth, John 4:24.