1 Samuel 12.18-21 Now Samuel was ministering in the presence of the HOLY ONE OF OLD, a boy dressed in a linen ephod. A little robe would his mother make for him and bring up to him year by year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the HOLY ONE repay you (Elkanah) with seed from this woman in place of the bequest she made to the FOUNT OF LIFE”; and then they would return to their home.
And the FAITHFUL ONE attended Hannah and she conceived and gave birth to two daughters and three sons. And the boy Samuel grew up there in the presence of the LIVING GOD.
Now the boy Samuel went on and grew in goodness with the MOST HIGH and with humanity.
As translated in Gafney, Wilda C. A Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. (NY: Church Publishing, 2021)
Reflection We humans are creatures who pray; praying when we believe and praying when we doubt, praying to fill our empty wombs or bellies or bank accounts, praying praise and thanksgiving for unexpected blessing, praying fury and lament and praying our questions. Prayers are a means by which we move our heads into our hearts, becoming more human as we reach beyond our selves in conversation with the mysterious “something more.”
We remember Hannah’s prayer for a son, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you.” (1 Samuel 1.10-11) Reaching out to “something more” than herself Hannah experiences LIVING GOD as faithful. Hannah blooms with child and matures in faith as she fulfills her vow to give her son Samuel back to God. Samuel grows in goodness in relationship with God and humanity and Hannah's blessing is multiplied as “she conceived and gave birth to two daughters and three sons.”
What does this story that takes place more than three thousand years ago and was written about five hundred and fifty years later have to say to us today? I believe it is about being in relationship with LIVING GOD which is the source and sustenance of our being. Hannah turns to God with her anguish, then, when her prayer for a son is answered, she sings, “ My heart rejoices in the Lord…. there is no one holy like the Lord… those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. ” (1 Sam 2.1,2, 5)
Praying is an act of humility (hunger). By definition it affirms “something more” than the individual who is praying which means praying is also about relationship. Whether prayer is offered as an act of worship, thanksgiving, intercession, supplication or confession it is a human being humbling her self to engage with “something more” than her self. The “something more” is not an object therefore it is known by faith. Hence, prayer is a human’s act of faith that there is “something more” than she can reasonably grasp yet, “something more” with which she is in relationship. Religious folks call this LIVING GOD.
Apparently we humans also pray instinctively. A poll taken in the UK in January of 2018 found “one in five adults pray despite saying they are non-religious… Among the non-religious, personal crisis or tragedy is the most common reason for praying, with one in four saying they pray to gain comfort or feel less lonely.” Read the article by clicking on the below link.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/half-of-non-believers-pray-says-poll
Prayers reach from our depths to the mysterious beyond as we are inclined either consciously or unconsciously to find our place in relationship with “something more.” This seems to be true even for those of us who assert we are non-religious. I wonder if a difference between religious and non-religious folks is revealed in the way Hannah fulfills her vow to the “something more,” singing God’s praises and returning her son to the One from whom her blessings flow? Hannah sustains her relationship with “something more” as she continues her prayers and righteous actions long after her anguish is eased.
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