Hannah experienced a wonderful miracle in her life. God answered her prayer and gave her a son. She must have been so happy to discover she was pregnant. A few months earlier, she had entered the temple in Jerusalem and opened her heart to God, even promising that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service.
Now that she was a mother, her life was so dif- ferent. She named her son Samuel, which means “heard by God”. We can imagine Hannah sitting with little Samuel and teaching him about God through the telling and retelling of the old stories. Samuel was a miracle and she loved him with all her heart.
But the time soon came when she had to take Samuel to the temple to serve the Lord, as she had promised. Although God had given her many other children, Samuel was her first. Giving him
up to the Lord still as a child must have been very difficult. Putting God first is often difficult. But here are Hannah’s own words, as recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1, 2:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no-one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”
Samuel would become one of the greatest proph- ets in the history of the people of Israel. He was a man of God who anointed king Saul and even king David himself. None of this would have happened if his mother had refused to put God first.
If you are a parent, have you ever wondered what impact putting God first will have on your chil- dren? It is impossible to predict the kind of impact children will have on the world when they grow up witnessing their parents putting God first.
Hannah put God first. Her example compels us to do the same.
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