“As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart.”

1 Samuel 1:12-13
Some of the men I work with in prison are filled with deep sadness and sorrow because of their sins and crimes. They ache for the pain they caused victims and families. They grieve the years they’ve lost and will lose as they face long sentences of confinement.

Many of them are helped by Hannah’s story.

Hannah was heartbroken because she could not bear children. Downhearted, she wept and was unable to eat. But in her sadness, Hannah never turned away from the Lord. She didn’t pretend to be happy or try to “fake it until she could make it.” She was honest with God. And “she kept on praying.”

Then the day came when the Lord “remembered her. In the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel” (vv. 19b-20). Hannah trusted her sadness to the Lord, and He proved Himself trustworthy.

God does not want us to pretend that we’re not sad when our hearts are broken. He invites us to bring our sadness to Him. For He is “close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).



Scripture Focus

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Insight

Do not let sadness turn you from the Lord. Turn to Him. Keep turning to Him. He will comfort and heal. He is trustworthy.

Bible In A Year

  • Leviticus 1-2
  • Psalm 46
  • Luke 10

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