Week of Prayer | 11th January → 18th January
The God who sees
In 1 Samuel 1:1–20, we are told the story of a family (Elkanah and his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah) who regularly go to Shiloh each year to worship God. In this story, we are told that Hannah is unable to have children, and this causes her immense heartache and pain. Throughout the passage, we see that no one really understands Hannah or her grief.
Peninnah, Hannah’s rival, mocks Hannah and uses the fact that Hannah can’t have children to “provoke her grievously to irritate her” (v.6).
Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, questions why Hannah is so upset, which shows that he didn’t really understand the depths of Hannah’s heartache in the first place (v.8).
Even Eli the priest misinterprets Hannah’s heartfelt prayer to be the mutterings of a “drunken woman” (v.13).
Despite all of this, Hannah “pours out her soul before the Lord” (v.15). Hannah entrusts her deepest and most painful feelings to the Lord, knowing that He is the only One who truly sees her and understands her pain. We see that God then answers Hannah’s prayer and gives her a son!
This week of prayer, however you are feeling and whatever situation you are going through, know that the Lord sees you, knows you, and loves you. When others around you don’t quite understand how you are feeling or what you are going through, know that the Lord understands completely and that He cares for you. As you pour out your soul before Him, you are putting your faith in the perfect, loving God who will never let you down. Let’s trust Him with every aspect of who we are and believe in Him for breakthrough!
A Week of Prayer is also a great opportunity to consider the practice of fasting. If you’ve never fasted before or would like to delve deeper into the topic, we’ve gathered some resources to help you: