Today’s author is Debbie Jorgens, Director of Congregational Care and Visitation.
Yesterday we heard the story of Hannah, a young woman who desperately wants to conceive and bear a child. But years go by, and she remains barren. Her husband, Elkanah, has a second wife, Penninah (referred to as Hannah’s “rival”), who has borne several sons and daughters. As if this isn’t difficult enough for Hannah, she is cruelly mocked by Penninah for not being able to have children.
Hannah’s heartache grows over time, and Elkanah voices his concern by asking: “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?” Elkanah’s last question seems to indicate that he already knows the reason for Hannah’s deep sadness. And yet, although he loves Hannah, he is simply unable to understand her pain.
Mocked by her rival, misunderstood by her husband, and more desperate than ever for a child, Hannah goes to the temple to pray. She bares her soul and pours her heart out to God, weeping bitterly as she pleads with God to give her a son.
Hannah’s raw expression of her grief and yearning provides a model for our own prayer life. Theologian Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki writes:
We are called to honesty in prayer, regardless of the state of our emotional well-being. God receives us as we are, and how we are is no surprise to God….So we might as well acknowledge our true state when we pray. We pray to God from where we are, not from where we think we should be. And God, who knows us where we are, can lead us to where we can be (In God’s Presence, 38).
It is freeing to be reminded that we come to God exactly as we are, without pretense, because God already knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us still. And driven by that love, God is willing to meet us right where we are and lead us into a new future filled with possibilities, many of which are beyond our wildest imagination.
Hannah’s new future included motherhood. She bore a son, Samuel, who would become a key leader of Israel and usher in its monarchy. Of course, not all our prayers are answered – at least, not in the way we hope they will be. This is part of the mystery of faith. As difficult as it sometimes is, we can only trust that our good and gracious God hears our prayers and will answer, in due time.
We give you thanks, O God, that we can come to you as we are. Give us faith to trust that our prayers – and our lives – are in your hands. Thy will be done. Amen.