Hannah Prayed and Said

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read 1 Samuel 2:1-11 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

‘Hannah prayed and said’ 1 Samuel 2:1a

At Heskin Pemberton, our local primary, there is never a shortage of volunteers to step forward and pray at the end of whole school worship. From every class. They do not know what words they are going to say, but we listen with anticipation, and say ‘Amen’ with joy. What a powerful tradition that school has developed.

Hannah was a pray-er. Sadness, distress, misery – all prayed from. All shared, as she habitually, expectantly, sought God’s attention. This time, as she has seen God move, she finds herself speaking these words of praise we have just read. She lets them come out of her mouth, knowing and feeling their truth, weight and their wonder at coming from her heart!

As a teenager, beginning to grasp the practical reality of following a Jesus who lives, I distinctly remember one occasion, having stopped to pray, thinking ‘where did those words come from’ that I had just heard myself saying! No, it wasn’t words to match Hannah’s, but a huge little step. If you use the gift of tongues in prayer, then you will practise the discipline of being still and letting your spirit praise God in prayer.

I imagine Hannah’s posture in the previous chapter was probably head bowed. Here, I see her, like Moses, with her hands aloft, eyes open, maybe again with tears. It’s not a pose of triumph, but of reaching out, acknowledging a God who listens. This is the way the people of Israel prayed.

Isn’t it wonderful to hear toddlers start to string words together that they speak from their heart? Jesus noted the same then he quoted Psalm 8 in Matthew 21 ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself.’ I learned so much in prayer by praying with others – the practise of letting prayer grow in your heart and mind, then releasing it in words. Welcoming the discipline of God as eager children. We all need a prayer creche!

Let us pray: ‘O Lord, open our lips, and our mouth shall show forth your praise.’ from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The Revd Stef Dnistrianskyj, St James the Great, Wrightington with Heskin.