A Prayer for the One Whose Life Feels Empty and Unfruitful - Your Daily Prayer - May 20

A Prayer for the One Whose Life Feels Empty and Unfruitful
By Sophia Bricker 

Bible Reading:
“Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there” (1 Samuel 1:26-27, NIV). 

Listen or Read Below:

All the blooms had slowly withered, leaving only the dried husks of flowers. But that was okay, I thought, the leaves were healthy and green. It was still a plant to brighten my workspace, even if the time for flowers had passed.  

Each day I saw the green leaves on the table, remembering the petals that once adorned the plant. In comparison to the former mixture of colors, the plant now seemed empty, as if the joy had been drained out of it. That was until one day I noticed something different–three small bulbs.  

“They won’t make it,” I told myself, not wanting to raise my hopes. After a few weeks, I thought I was correct in my estimation until one day golden, orange petals emerged. They stood alone against the swath of dark leaves, defiantly blooming even when all the other flowers had died. It felt like a miracle. Small perhaps, but an everyday miracle nonetheless.  

On a much larger scale, we receive a similar picture from the life of Hannah in the Bible. She was a woman loved by her husband but ridiculed for being childless. In a culture where bearing children, especially sons, was vital to a woman’s social standing and necessary for building a sustainable future, Hannah’s life seemed hopeless.  

A closed womb. No children. A competing wife who had borne many children to their shared husband. And a husband who did not understand her pain. “Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8, NIV). As if a statement like that could reduce the yearning inside her to have a son of her own. She might as well have been a flowerless plant. 

In her sorrow, though, she sought the One who cared the most and could help her. Elkanah, her husband, could not control the womb. Neither could anyone she knew. Yet God, the One who opens and closes the womb, who is Lord over death and life, could provide Hannah with what she desired. So, she went to the tabernacle and poured out her heart to God. And He listened. Many months later, Hannah had a son who would become a great prophet and leader in Israel. She named him Samuel “Because I asked the Lord for him,” and lovingly offered him back to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:20, NIV).  

Throughout the Bible, we find the Lord bringing life into empty and seemingly dead situations: Speaking the world into existence from nothing; Giving a child to an elderly couple who were past child-bearing years; Setting an enslaved people free from their oppressors; Defeating death and transforming rebels into children of God.  

We all have those dark, lifeless places where we think nothing good can happen. As we grieve these areas of life, may we, like Hannah, turn to the Lord in prayer. He hears our prayers and can bring new growth from what we once thought was dead. There might already be a bud growing–we just don’t see it yet.

When it does come, may we have the courage to raise it up and offer it back to the One from whom every good and perfect gift comes (James 1:17). 

Let’s Pray:  

Lord, You saw Hannah’s sorrow and heard her when she cried out to You in prayer. Though Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk, You honored her request and gave her a son. How amazing that You look upon the lowly and broken with compassion, even though the world ignores their plight! 

Please look upon me with mercy, O Lord, as You did with Hannah. Take notice of my sorrow, for there are so many broken places in my life. These areas seem so hollow, and I feel hopeless about the future. Speak life into these places, so that where there is hatred, there would be love. Where there is darkness, bring light. And where all the problems keep overwhelming me, grant me the peace that only You can give. I trust You can make something new even here in my brokenness.

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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Photo Credit: Unsplash/Nikola Jovanovic 

Sophia Bricker is a writer. Her mission is to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus through thoughtful articles, devotionals, and stories. She completed a BA and MA in Christian ministry which included extensive study of the Bible and theology, as well as an MFA in creative writing. You can read her thoughts about literature and faith at The Cross, a Pen, and a Page Substack, or visit the discipleship-based site  Cultivate, where she writes with her sister.

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