From our Miracle Babies series exploring God’s promises wrapped in blankets

The Five Finger Game

Let’s start with a game. Put a finger down if:

  • You’ve ever felt ignored by everyone, including God
  • You’ve been hurt by dysfunctional family relationships
  • You’ve desperately wanted something that never worked out
  • You’ve tried making a deal with God
  • You’ve had to give up something precious to you

If you have no fingers left, you’re in good company. That’s exactly what Hannah experienced.

Hannah’s Heartbreak

Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1 reveals a woman in profound distress. She was one of two wives to a man named Elkanah. While the other wife, Peninnah, had many children, Hannah remained barren. Year after year, Peninnah would taunt her severely, rubbing salt in the wound of her childlessness.

Though Elkanah loved Hannah deeply, even giving her double portions at sacrifices, it wasn’t enough to heal her broken heart. The one thing she wanted most seemed forever out of reach.

Look at the words describing Hannah’s condition: taunted, provoked, weeping, deeply hurt, afflicted, broken-hearted. This wasn’t mild disappointment. This was crushing despair.

A Prayer from the Depths

In her anguish, Hannah did something remarkable. She went to the tabernacle and prayed with such intensity that Eli the priest thought she was drunk. Her lips moved but no sound came out, her heart pouring out to God in silent agony.

When confronted, Hannah explained: “I’m a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine. I’ve been pouring my heart out before the Lord. Don’t think of me as wicked. I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”

Here’s what I admire most about Hannah: even in her bitterness, she never lost sight of the God who loved her. She never stopped communicating with him, even when she believed God was to blame for her childlessness.

It’s okay to have angry prayers. It’s okay to pray from bitterness and anguish. Just keep that line of communication open.

Hannah made a vow: “Lord, if you give me a son, I will give him back to you for his entire life.”

The Pattern of Redemption

Hannah’s story follows what scholars call “the barren woman motif,” a four-part pattern throughout Scripture:

1. Distress – Hannah was taunted, provoked, weeping, afflicted, broken-hearted. But Psalm 34 reminds us: “The Lord is near the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

2. Plea – She cried out honestly to God. Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears.” God isn’t playing hide and seek. If we look for him, we will find him.

3. Promise – Eli blessed her: “May the Lord grant your request.” And God did. She named her son Samuel, “God has heard.”

4. Destiny – Hannah kept her vow, dedicating Samuel to God’s service. He would become the last great Judge of Israel, a prophet, a priest, and a kingmaker – anointing Israel’s first two kings.

Hannah’s Prayer of Praise

After bringing Samuel to serve at the tabernacle, Hannah offered an extraordinary prayer (1 Samuel 2) celebrating four themes:

  • Praise: “My heart rejoices in the Lord!”
  • Reversal: The proud brought low, the humble exalted, the hungry filled, the barren given children
  • God’s Rule: His power over life and death, his justice and sovereignty
  • The Lord’s Messiah: “He will give power to his king and lift up the horn of his anointed”

Sound familiar? Centuries later, Mary would echo Hannah’s prayer in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), praising God for the coming of Jesus with remarkably similar words. Look at them side-by-side.

1 Samuel 2:1-10
My heart rejoices in the Lord;
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no one besides you!
And there is no rock like our God.
Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by him.
The bows of the warriors are broken,
but the feeble are clothed with strength.
Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,
but the woman with many sons pines away.
The Lord brings death and gives life;
he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the trash heap.
He seats them with noblemen
and gives them a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
he has set the world on them.
He guards the steps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked perish in darkness,
for a person does not prevail by his own strength.
Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;
he will thunder in the heavens against them.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give power to his king;
he will lift up the horn of his anointed.

Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,
because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
He has done a mighty deed with his arm;
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he spoke to our ancestors.

From Samuel to Jesus

Samuel points us to Christ in beautiful ways:

  • Both had miraculous births to faithful mothers
  • Both were dedicated to God’s service from youth
  • Both served as prophet, priest, and deliverer
  • Both ushered in new eras for God’s people
  • Both came when “the word of the Lord was rare”

Samuel would one day travel to Bethlehem to anoint David as king. God promised David an eternal kingdom. And in that same city, angels would announce the birth of David’s greater son, the Messiah, the anointed King whose kingdom truly has no end.

Where Are You Today?

Which part of Hannah’s journey resonates with you? Are you in distress? Make your plea known. God can handle your honest prayers, your anger, your questions. He’s not afraid of your broken heart.

Are you waiting for a promise? Keep seeking. Keep trusting.

Have you received what you asked for? Remember, everything we have comes from God. When he asks us to give back, he’s only asking us to share what he first gave us.

Hannah’s story teaches us that God meets us in our darkest moments. He hears our desperate prayers. And he uses our pain to accomplish purposes beyond what we can imagine.

Whatever weighs heavily on you today, bring it before God. Be honest. Be raw. Be real.

Because just like Hannah discovered, God has heard.

This Advent season, may we keep Christ at the forefront of everything, just like all those who came before us pointed the way to him.

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