Hannah’s prayer of gratitude can be found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Within this beautiful passage of Scripture, we learn many lessons on thankfulness.
While many people might overlook this section of the Bible, it is important to stop, go back, and take our time to fully appreciate this wonderful part of the Old Testament.
Hannah is one of my personal favorite Bible characters because God uses her in an unexpected way for His glory. Throughout her life and in this prayer of gratitude, we can learn many wonderful things. Here are five lessons from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude.
1. Thankfulness and Rejoicing Go Hand-in-Hand
One lesson on thankfulness from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is that thankfulness and rejoicing go hand-in-hand.
We see this truth in the first verse of her prayer, “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” (1 Samuel 2:1).
As this part of Hannah’s prayer says, her heart rejoices in the Lord and her horn is lifted high. She no longer had to be scared of her enemies, but rather, she boasted over her enemies. She delights in the Lord for He gave her deliverance.
Hannah was a woman who struggled with depression. She was depressed because she could not have children. After praying to the Lord, He answered her prayer, and He enabled her to have a child with her husband.
She named the baby Samuel and dedicated him to the Tabernacle. Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is praising God for blessing her with her baby boy and how God walked with her through her depression.
She used to be seen as cursed for not being able to have children, yet through God, she no longer could be ridiculed by the hostile people.
We can learn a lot from this single passage of 1 Samuel 2. Similar to Hannah, our hearts should rejoice in the Lord. Rejoicing in the Lord causes us to be thankful and to lift up praises to the Lord. Think about something that you are thankful for today.
It could be something big or it could be something small. No matter what it is, know that God is the One who orchestrates every good thing in your life. Don’t neglect to give him thanks just as Hannah does in her prayer of gratitude.
2. God Is the Source of Our Thankfulness
A second lesson on thankfulness from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is that God is the source of our thankfulness. This is shown in 1 Samuel 2:2, “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”
As Hannah says, there is no one like the Lord. Only He is our rock and only He is our fortress. Through this, we can know that God is the source of all of our thankfulness.
Every good thing comes from God, and we don’t need to turn a deaf ear to this truth. He is the source of our thankfulness because, without Him, we would be nothing.
The present salvation we are experiencing, the forgiveness we have been given, and the promise of eternal life with Him forever in Heaven should cause our hearts to be thankful. There is no one else who can give these things to us because they are God’s alone to give.
With a thankful heart, we need to give praise to God for all that He has done for us and all that He will do in the future.
None of us deserve these things, yet out of God’s love, He has richly blessed us with these things. He is truly the source of our thankfulness for everything in this life and in the life to come.
3. God Is in Control
A third lesson on thankfulness from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is that God is in control (1 Samuel 2:6-8). This alone should cause us to be thankful because we know God is ultimately in control.
While it is true that we live in a fallen world, we know that all things work out in accordance with God’s will (Romans 8:28). There is nothing to fear because God will always be with us and never will our lives be out of His control.
We see this in the life of Hannah because He is the One who enabled her to have a child. She was barren, yet through God’s blessing, she was able to conceive and have a baby with her husband.
Knowing God is in control is reason enough for praise. God is in control of everything, including poverty, riches, humbleness, and exalting (1 Samuel 2:6-8). Bad things will happen throughout our lives, but God does not cause them.
The Lord can use these bad things for our good and turn them into something that will help us grow in our relationship with Him. Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is a beautiful example of how God is in control.
She trusted in the Lord and He didn’t fail her. In the same way, we need to rest in the peace of the Lord and be thankful that He is in control.
4. God Is the One Who Prevails
A fourth lesson on thankfulness from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is that God is the One who prevails. God guards the feet of His servants and through His Mighty Hand, He will give them strength (1 Samuel 2:9-10).
It is not through a man’s strength that he prevails, rather, it is because of the Lord. No matter how strong a person is, they will never be stronger than the Lord.
There might be hostile people we come across in our lives, yet none of them are stronger than the Lord. We can be thankful just as Hannah was in her prayer because it is God who prevails.
It can feel at times that we are alone, and we are going to be swallowed up by our enemies. We don’t need to give way to this type of thinking because it is not true.
God will always be by our side, and He will never leave us for one second. God and His plans will prevail.
No evil plan or scheme can succeed against Him. If you are facing something today, turn in prayer to God just as Hannah did, and don’t forget to give Him praise and thank Him for all that He does.
5. Hannah Did Not Doubt God’s Goodness
A fifth lesson on thankfulness from Hannah’s prayer of gratitude is that she did not doubt God’s goodness. Throughout her life and in her prayer, she could have doubted God, but she does not. Instead, she praises Him and gives thanks to her Savior.
She had faced ridicule and hurtful words from people in the past, yet God had freed her from all of this. Her approval and worth were found in the eyes of the Lord.
Hannah knew she didn’t need to seek out approval from others because she was already enough in God’s eyes. She never doubted Him or His goodness.
Hannah knew God was faithful and that He would heal her weary heart. In the same way in our prayers, we do not need to doubt God or His goodness. He is more than capable of answering our prayers in His timing.
When you pray, don’t doubt. Choose to trust God and thank Him for His blessings. No matter if the prayer is answered with a yes, no, or maybe, don’t doubt the Lord. Instead, choose to give Him praise in word, action, and deed.
For further reading:
Who Was Hannah in the Bible? Verses and Story
What Is the Significance of ‘For This Child I Have Prayed’?
Why Did God Withhold from His Most Faithful in the Bible?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Igor Alecsander
