Hannah is absolutely one of my favorite women in the bible but throughout her life she was mocked by Peninnah because of her barren state.  Due to the constant torment and reminder of having a closed womb Hannah becomes so depressed that she refuses to eat even though her husband is offering her double portions of food.  We find her pouring her heart out to God so much that Eli, the high priest, thought she was drunk.  She tells God that she would give the child up to Him if she could have children.  In return, God opened her womb and when she finally had a child she offers Samuel, the boy she prayed, to Eli the high priest, she rejoices and gives praises unto the Lord.    God had answered her prayers with her one dream of having a child, Hannah  in return gave her dreams over to God to work for His kingdom.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told to always be careful what you pray for, because God just might give it to you.  Although I want to hand over control of my life to God it can be extremely difficult.  Honestly, I’m afraid of what I would have to give up even though I know in the end God will bless me and ultimately I’ll be happy with His decision.  This afternoon, I prayed for God to change my heart and give me the courage to hand everything over to Him.  As a self-proclaimed task checker, list maker and control freak this was no easy feat!

Hannah showed such bravery in making the vow with God.  The very child that she was so depressed about not having to the point of starvation, she vowed to give right back to God if He opened her womb.  Although James tells us it is better to not make vows, but just let our yes be yes and no be no but in both Ecclesiastes and Deuteronomy it tells us that if we make a vow we should honor it swiftly and Numbers let’s us know that we should always honor it.  Basically be men and women of our words and Hannah was just that as Samuel spent the majority of his life dedicated to serving God.

Do you think you could ever dedicate your dreams and desires totally to God?  What is something that you need to hand over to God at this moment?  Are there things in your life that you have made idols of and need to ask God to take away?  Is there something you want desperately that you focus on it constantly instead of focusing on God and His desire for you life?  Share below!