Song Of Deliverance
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Hannah had a reputation for pouring out her soul to the Lord in prayer and worship. In the chapter before this one, Hannah was so fervently praying in the Temple that the priest thought she was drunk.
When the priest asks her to put away her wine, Hannah responds saying, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
Hannah was distraught because she could not get pregnant. Not only was Hannah sad about not having a child, but her “rival” Penniniah, who had children, would intentionally irritate Hannah because of her infertility (1 Samuel 1:6).
Hannah’s song of rejoicing comes after years of anguished, desperate, drunk-looking prayers.
Hannah can “delight in your [God’s] deliverance” because she humbly expressed to Him that she needed to be delivered.
Hannah’s heart “rejoices in the Lord” because she sought His hand in her life.
Hannah declares bold faith in God’s sovereignty because she has prayerfully trusted her life with Him through trials.
Songs of rejoicing and deliverance cannot come without trials. Do you seek God with the desperation and grief Hannah did when you face hardship? It can be tempting to “ride out” a tough situation so you can sing a song of joy at the end.
But what if, like Hannah, we grieved with God and rejoiced with God wholeheartedly? He wants you to come to Him with honesty in your hardship. He also wants you to rejoice with Him and give Him glory in your deliverance!
May we, like Hannah, have a life of prayer and worship that embodies what David writes in Psalm 62:8
