LORD Had Closed Her Womb
Unknown Author
1 Samuel 1:5
5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.
The other day I was reading this passage and I paused on the sentence Lord had closed her womb. Some times God delays or with holds some of our prayer requests. The waiting time between the prayer and the miracle is the tough time to bear. Getting back to Hannah’s story, generally we tend to highlight the prayer of Hannah than the suffering she went through.
Satan Provokes You. Based on what you don’t have (Which God has put on hold)
1 Samuel 1:6
6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
Let us read the above verse by replacing the word rival with Satan.
And because the LORD had closed her womb, Satan kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
Devil brings doubts in our heart. He tries to make us angry at God and to create unnecessary confusion.
Your Faith in God will lead you to Provocation from Satan
1 Samuel 1:7
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
Please read again by replacing the word her rival with Satan.
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, Satan provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
Year after year Hannah was faithful. She went to the house of the Lord with out fail. The more she sought God the more she was provoked. Satan threw fiery darts at her till she wept and would not eat. I have gone through similar situations in my life. There were times when Satan has pressed my mind with questions such as:
What has God done in your life?
God does not love you anymore; that’s why he has closed your womb (Blessing or Prayers). Agreed?
You are a cursed one. Isn’t it?
You went to church year by year but all you got is pain. Then why should you praise this God?
At the end I was just like Hannah - wept and would not eat.
Human Love in the midst of Crisis
1 Samuel 1:4, 8
4 whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.
8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
Elkanah gave double portion to Hannah because he loved her. In the midst of the crisis God gave Hannah a loving husband Elkanah. Whenever I come across Elkanah’s love towards Hannah I remember the following verse:
I Corinthians 10:13
13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
In the midst of crisis, God comforted her through human love. Even in my life when I went through tough times God gave me a loving mother who was just like Elkanah. At times, our friends or family members are our Elkanah!
No man will understand your prayer (No human being will understand your problems)
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
Prayer of Hannah seemed like drunken woman for Eli Prophet. Some times in our life too, the cry of our heart may not be completely understood or may even seem to be a joke for others.
Delight In God
17 Eli answered "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
I remember the verse: Psalms 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
All that Hannah did was to pour out her heart to God and then she went and ate and her face was no longer downcast.
…the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."
In verse
11, Hannah makes a vow that if blessed with a son, to give him to the Lord all the days of his life. Samuel grew in the Lord’s temple and became a great prophet of his time.
Even as Hannah gave back to God what God had blessed her with, she received abundant blessings. She was blessed with three sons and two daughters!
1 Samuel 2:21
21 And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.
God withheld Hannah’s blessing for a reason - if she would have got the child normally she would not have experienced the divine plan for Samuel. Moreover, God was gracious to bless Hannah with five children to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.
God is good, all the time!
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