God Answers Hannah's Prayer

Scripture quotations are from the EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2018, 2024 – UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.easyenglish.bible 

Background information

Hannah was a woman who lived around 1100 years before the time of Jesus. 

This was a time before Israel * had a King. The Bible tells us that at that time ‘everyone did what was right in his own eyes’ (Judges 21:25). In other words, people did what they wanted to do. They did not care about breaking God’s Law if they thought they knew a better way to live. At that time, Eli was the High Priest and the Judge of Israel. He served God in God’s tabernacle * in Shiloh, and was the most important man in Israel. Eli had two sons who were also priests, but even they were wicked. 

Hannah and her husband Elkanah were not like many other people in Israel at that time. They were faithful to God and kept His laws. They trusted in Him and loved Him. Every year, they obeyed God’s Law and went to Shiloh to worship God and make a sacrifice to Him.

For many years, Hannah did not have any children. This made her very very sad. In ancient Israel, it was important for a woman to have children. If she was not able to have a child, people often thought she was not a real woman, and that God was not pleased with her. 

Because Hannah did not have a child, Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah, was very unkind to her and made fun of her. This made Hannah even more sad.

In God’s tabernacle in Shiloh, Hannah prayed to God. She cried and cried and cried. The High Priest, Eli, saw her praying. At first, he thought she was drunk, because she prayed so hard, and no words came out of her mouth. He just saw her lips moving.  Hannah told him she was not drunk and that she had a broken heart. Eli said sorry to her for thinking she was drunk. Then he told her, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked of Him.’ 

God heard Hannah’s prayer, and she had a son. His name was Samuel. Hannah gave Samuel back to God when he was about three or four years old, when he was old enough to eat real food. She took him back to Shiloh to live with the High Priest, Eli, in God’s tabernacle. There, Samuel learned the ways of God, and grew to love Him and serve Him with all his heart. 

Samuel was blessed by God. He became the last Judge of Israel and a prophet. God used Him to turn the people of Israel back to right living and true worship of Himself. Later, God used Samuel to choose Israel’s first King.

Later, God blessed Hannah with more children. She had three more sons, and two daughters.

When Hannah had baby Samuel, she was full of joy and thanked God with all her heart. You can read her prayer below. 

Hannah’s prayer tells us how kind God is to those who trust Him. It also speaks about God’s greatness, and his power over all things. Hannah’s prayer also speaks of a coming King who is called ‘the King that he has chosen’. In the Hebrew language, the word she used was ‘Mashiach *’, which also means ‘Messiah *’. And so, we can see that Hannah’s prayer was a kind of prophecy.

We can learn so much about God from Hannah’s prayer. What a wonderful example of praise, thankfulness and trust it is.

 

1 Samuel 2: 1-10

1 Hannah prayed and she said,

‘I am very happy when I think about what the Lord has done.

The Lord has made me very strong.

I can laugh at my enemies because you, Lord, have saved me.

That makes me very happy.

2 Nobody else is holy like the Lord.

There is no other God except you, our God.

You are the only Rock where we can be safe.

3 Do not boast or speak proud words!

The Lord is a God who knows everything.

He judges everything that people do.

4 The weapons of brave soldiers may break.

But weak people who fall become strong again.

5 People who once had plenty of food to eat

have to work hard for it now.

But the people who were hungry

now have enough food.

Women who could not have any children

have now given birth to seven children.

But those who had many children are now alone.

6 The Lord gives both life and death.

He sends some people to their graves,

and he raises other people up.

7 The Lord makes some people poor

and he makes other people rich.

He causes some people to be important

and he puts other people low down.

8 He raises up weak people from the ground.

He lifts poor people up out of the dirt.

He makes them become friends of princes.

He puts them in places of honour.

The deep places of the earth belong to the Lord.

He built the world on a strong foundation.

9 He takes care of his faithful people.

But he puts wicked people in a dark place

where they can do nothing.

It is not a person's own strength that makes him great.

10 The Lord will destroy his enemies.

He will shout against them from heaven like loud thunder.

The Lord will judge everyone on earth.

He will make his king strong.

He will give power to the king that he has chosen* to rule.’

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Important Vocabulary to Learn

(Some of these words are from the readings above, and some are from the questions and answers below.)

1. Words from the first 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

alone, ancient, break/broken, cause(s), character, child/children, (in) control (of), cry/cried, chosen, daughter(s), describe(s), destroy, (to be) drunk, enough, enemy/enemies, except, faith/faithful, greatness, grow/grew, ground, honour, joy, kind, laugh (at), poor, power, rich, rock, rule, safe, serve, son(s), strong/strength, trust(ed), worthy (of) 

(And all the other words in the reading that are not listed in numbers 2, 3 and 4 below.)

2. Words from the second 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

baby, (give) birth (to), blessed (by), boast, brave, dirt, (made) fun (of), graves, holy, hungry, loud, obeyed, plenty (of), praise, prayed, priest, proud, sacrifice, sad, shout, soldiers, sorry, thanked, thunder, weak, weapons, wicked, worship 

3. Academic Word List - 

foundation

4. Off  List Words

prince(s), prophecy/prophet, thankfulness, unkind

5. Glossary of Special Terms - (these words are marked with a *)

Israel - In this reading, this is the name of the ancient nation of God’s people

Mashiach - ‘The king that he has chosen’ = Mashiach (a Hebrew word) means ‘Messiah’ in English - the one who God promised to send to save His people.

tabernacle - The place of worship for God's people in ancient Israel, before they built the temple. At that time, it was a large tent that could be moved from place to place. It was a very holy place.

 

Learning Questions and Activities      

1. Remembering - Write down some of the things Hannah said that describe God? What were some of the things she said He did for her?

2. Understanding - Finish this sentence... Hannah thanked God for answering her first prayer, and for giving her a child, but most of all, this prayer (in the reading above) shows ........

(When you have finished, take a look at some possible answers at the end of this lesson.)

3. Applying - Do you ever pray? Is prayer important to you? Why/Why not? If you do pray, think about the way you pray. Are your prayers like Hannah's two prayers? Hannah said, 'I am very happy when I think about what the Lord has done.' What has God done for you? How does Hannah's example in both her prayers make you think about the place of prayer in your life? What does Hannah's prayer in the reading above teach you about the way you should speak to God when you pray?

4. Analysing - Hannah's prayer (in the reading above) is in three parts. In the first part, Hannah praises God for who He is. Then she gives thanks to God for what He has done. Finally, she describes what God will do in the future. Can you find each part? Where does one part stop and the next part begin? Why do you think Hannah prayed in this way?

How do you think Hannah knew what God will do in the future? (For some possible answers to this question, take a look at some possible answers at the end of this lesson.)

5. Evaluating -  What kind of prayers does God answer? What kind of prayers might He not answer? Is prayer just asking God for the things we want, or is it something else? Is just saying the words of a prayer that another person wrote enough? What sort of things should we say in our prayers? Where should our prayers come from? How should we speak to God? 

6. Creating - Write a prayer of your own in English. Your prayer should have three parts...

1) Praise to God for who He is.

2) Thanks to God for what He has done for you.

3) Describe what God will do. (For this last part, you need to find some promises in the Bible that are important to you. God's promises tell us what God has said He will do for His people. We can trust Him to keep them.)

Share your prayer with another person. Explain what you wrote and why. Perhaps you can pray your prayers together.

Remember to keep praying every day with a happy heart. (1 Thessalonians 5: ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.)

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Possible Answers: 

2. Understanding -  Hannah's prayer shows that she understood that God is in control of all things. Her prayer shows how much she loved God and trusted Him. Her prayer shows that she knew that God knew everything about her. Hannah lived a life of faith. She knew that God alone is worthy of our trust, praise and worship. She knew that He cares for everyone who loves and worships Him.

4. Analysing - Hannah knew God. She believed the promises He gave to His people. She knew that God keeps His word. She knew that God's character never changes.