Sermons:
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Answers
to Prayer: Yes, No, or Not Yet
a sermon based on 1 Samuel 1:4-20
by Rev. Randy L Quinn
Most of us
can name a time in our lives when there was a change or a transition.
We can remember a time when life was “different” than it is now, or we
can point to a date on the calendar and say it was a turning point in
our lives.
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Sometimes that transition had to do with
work – we either found a job or retired from work.
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Sometimes the turning point had to do with
school – we either began a degree program or finished our studies.
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Sometimes that change had to do with our
marital circumstances – we became married or widowed or divorced.
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And sometimes that transition had to do
with children – we gave birth to children, adopted children, or watched
the last child leave our home.
We can name a time
“before” and a time “after” the event. The changes were not always what
we expected, but there were consequences that took place as a result.
After some changes, our lives become better; while other changes may
make things worse.
As I read the story of
Hannah, I am struck by the various characters in the story that act as
if everything is OK the way it is. They don’t seem to want anything to
change. Hannah is the only one who thinks there is a need for change;
everyone else acts as if there is no need for transition.
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Peninnah likes being able to torment
Hannah – she seems to get as much pleasure from Hannah’s reaction as she
does her own children (vv. 6-7)!
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Elkanah seems to think his love for Hannah
should be sufficient for her – that she doesn’t need anything other than
his undying affection (vv. 5, 8).
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Eli doesn’t want people disrupting the
worship service – even when he finds out she isn’t drunk, he expects her
to leave the premises (v. 7).
Only Hannah wants things
to change.
And given the fact that
things are not going very well for her, I guess, that’s understandable.
If we think back and reflect on our own lives, I’m sure we can name a
similar time when things were not going well for us, a time when we
longed for something else. It may not be as dramatic as Hannah’s
desires, but certainly there was a time when you wished things were
different.
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Maybe you were struggling through school
and wished for easier classes.
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Maybe you were lonely and hoped to meet
someone, maybe even marry someone.
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Maybe you had a boss that was overbearing
and you longed for a day when someone else would be your boss – or you
could be your own boss.
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Maybe you were overwhelmed with
commitments from work or school or family and kept looking forward to
the day off you had coming.
I know
I can think of several of those occasions in my life. I remember
the longing I had to finish the process for adopting Jesse and Mariah [continue]
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