Our Incomparable God.

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” – 1 Samuel 2:1-2 ESV

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah's in one of the more fascinating, yet little known, stories in the Bible. She was a wife who had the unlikely lot of having to share her husband with another woman. To make matters worse, she was barren and unable to have kids, but her husband's other wife had been prolific. And the cause of her infertility? According to the Scriptures, it was God, because we read, “the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:5 ESV). And as if that was not enough, her trouble was compounded by the ridicule she received from wife number two. “And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:6 ESV). As a result of all this, Hannah was distressed and disturbed, and while visiting Shiloh one year to worship and offer sacrifices to God at the tabernacle, Hannah took her problem to God. “And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head’” (1 Samuel 1:11 ESV). In due time, and in answer to her prayer, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel. And when Samuel reached the age of about three years old, Hannah kept her vow to God and brought him to the tabernacle. “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:27-28 ESV). 

You would think that this would have been a very sad day in Hannah's life. After all, she had waited so many years and suffered so much ridicule, and now that she had been blessed by God, she was having to give the most precious thing in her life to God. She was having to leave her small child in the hands of others and simply walk away. And while there was no doubt a high degree of sadness in Hannah's heart that day, what she expressed to God reveals no regret, remorse and unhappiness. Instead, she said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1 ESV). Having just placed her young son in the hands of the priest to raise, she rejoiced. She expressed joy in the Lord, thanking Him for what He had done. Not only had He given her a son, God had exalted her horn. That is a unique expression that doesn't mean a whole lot to us in a modern context. But in an agrarian culture, the horn of an animal was a symbol of strength. An animal lifting up its horn became synonymous with strength and virility. Hannah's strength had been renewed by God. She was confident and content with her lot in life because God had blessed her. She had once been childless, but now she could rejoice in the fact that God had showed her favor. And she was more than willing to keep her vow to God. He had saved her from her humiliation and allowed her to experience the joy of giving birth to a son.

In all of this, Hannah's main takeaway was the uniqueness of her God. He was incomparable. Her God was not distant or disinterested in her problems. He cared for her greatly and took a personal interest in her life. He had taken her barrenness and turned it into blessing. He had replaced her humiliation with hope. Yes, she had just given her son to God, but she did so because God had given her son to her. It was the least she could do. She viewed the Giver as greater than the gift. And she could do all this because she recognized the greatness of God. She knew Him to be holy, set apart, and without peer or comparison. Her God was her rock. The Hebrew word she uses is tsuwr and it refers to a rocky cliff where one can find shelter. For Hannah, God was a refuge and protector from her enemies. No more would she have to suffer ridicule and endure the shame of her barrenness. God had done the impossible for her. And again, while she had handed over her son to Eli, the priest, Hannah didn't wallow in regret and sadness, she rejoiced. She praised God. She was more than willing to give back to the one who had given to her. God hadn't just given her a son, He had given her hope, joy, strength, and a new capacity to face the future with confidence. Her God was with her. He heard her. And He answered her when she called. As far as Hannah was concerned, her life and her son were both in good hands, because they were in God's hands.

Whatever We Ask?

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. – 1 John 5:14-15 ESV

Prayer is often a confusing and frustrating experience for the average Christian. It can also be one of the most misunderstood and misused disciplines in the life of the believer. The fact that we should pray is clear to most of us. That most of us attempt to pray is probably a safe assumption. But the experience of most believers when it comes to the subject and practice of prayer is one of inconsistency and impotency. Our prayer lives tend to be sporadic and powerless. Answers to prayer are rare and usually unexpected. So when we read a passage like the one above, we can either scratch our heads and wonder why what they promise doesn't seem to be true in our own lives, or we can get overly excited and conclude that we have been neglecting a veritable no-limits gift card to get whatever we want.

But John would have us approach prayer excitedly, expectantly, but also wisely. So he includes some important conditions when it comes to prayer. This is not the first time that John has addressed the topic. Back in chapter three he gave us the comforting news that “we have confidence before God;  and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22 ESV). There are those intriguing words again – whatever we ask. It would seem that John is offering us some kind of carte blanche when it comes to prayer. He appears to be representing God as some kind of a cosmic genie in a bottle, ready and willing to grant our every wish. But John would have us tap the break and slow down our runaway excitement. He gives us a few caveats or conditions. We must keep His commandments and live in such a way that our lives please Him. This is not John's attempt to offer some kind of works-righteousness as a means to get things from God. He is simply presenting a picture of what it means to live in relationship, in intimate communion with God. As we abide in Him; relying on His strength, depending upon His wisdom, and resting in His sovereign will for our lives, we will tend to have a better idea of what it is that He would desire for our lives. Which is why John adds yet another condition for prayer in verses 14-15 in chapter 5: “if we ask anything according to his will.” For many of us, prayer has become little more than an exercise in expressing our will. We come to God telling Him what we want. We bring Him our list of requests and petitions. We inform Him what it is that we need Him to do and we even give Him our preferred timetable for delivery of our request. But even Jesus knew better than to demand of His Father anything that would be outside of His will. In the garden, faced with the looming prospect of His own death, He made an impassioned plea to His Father, but added an important disclosure. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 ESV). Ultimately, Jesus wanted the will of His Father. He fully trusted His Father and placed His life in His hands. Coming to God in prayer is an incredible privilege, but it is also a right of every child of God. As John puts it, “we have confidence before God.” We can come into His presence. We can bring our requests before Him. And when we ask, we can know that He hears us. Not only that, “we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:15 ESV).

But we have all had the unpleasant experience of having our prayers go unanswered. We have asked of God and then stood back and watched as nothing remotely like what requested has come about. But these moments of seeming contradiction speak more of our lack of knowledge of God and our misunderstanding of prayer. It helps me to think of my prayers like the requests of a small child to a loving parent. Children can be inordinately self-absorbed. They can also lack discernment. As a result, they can sometimes make requests that are unwise and potentially unhealthy. A loving parent would never give in to every request made by their child. In some cases, they might answer the request, but in a slightly different manner or on what appears to be a much slower timetable. But in their wisdom, they do for their child what they believe to be best for them. That is how God deals with us. He wants us to bring our requests. But He also wants us to trust His will. He wants us to understand that He knows best what will bring us good while bringing Him glory. God's will is not our happiness, but our holiness. He is not here to grant our every wish. He exists to redeem, restore, renew, and rescue us from the damaging influences of a sin-filled world. We have to always remember that we are always susceptible to what John called the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life. Those things can weasel their way into our prayers. We can come before God desiring and asking for things that are outside of His will for us. And He is not obligated to give us everything we desire. Paul reminds us that God's will is “good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV). He also encourages us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2 ESV). It is essential that we understand that effective prayer goes hand-in-hand with our ongoing spiritual transformation. The more we come to know God and understand what His will is for us, the more clearly we will pray within His will. And in those times when we still do not know His will, we will be content to leave the outcome to Him. We will want His will to be done. And we will trust Him to know what is best for us, because He loves us.

Kids In A Candy Store?

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. – 1 John 3:21-22 ESV

The two verses above sound almost too good to be true. They appear to be giving us some kind of divine carte blanche, providing us with a blank check from God to get whatever we want from Him. All we have to do is ask. Of course, there does appear to be some fine print attached to this too-good-to-be-true promise. John seems to indicate that we have to keep God's commandments and do what pleases Him. The condition is that I have to live obediently and keep God happy, THEN I can get whatever I want from Him. That explains everything. The reason I don't get all that I ask for from God is because I fail to measure up. Or is it? Is John saying my behavior is the key to getting what I want from God? A little bit later on, in chapter five, John brings up this matter again. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15 ESV). Did you catch the condition John placed in these verses? “If we ask anything according to his will.” Ah, now it's all starting to make sense. I just have to figure out what God's will is, then I can get what I want from Him. But wait a minute. Think about that last statement. God's will and my desires are, in most cases, not one in the same. What I want and what God wants are not necessarily compatible. In fact, I would say that in most cases, our desires and God's will are naturally and normally incompatible and at odds with one another. Paul reminds us, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17 ESV). We have a sin nature, and it is diametrically opposed to the will of God. It has a mind of its own. Its desires are contrary to the desires of God. Earlier in his letter, John warned us about three things that are constantly wreaking havoc in our lives: the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life. The New Living Translation describes them in plain language we can understand – “a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.” So what I want is not always what God wants. And what I ask Him for is not always within His will.

So what is John trying to tell us? What is he teaching us about prayer that we need to know? First of all, he is NOT telling us that we can get whatever we want from God. God is not some kind of a cosmic genie required to grant our every wish. He is holy and righteous. He is sovereign and all-knowing. He is all-powerful and, while He is fully capable of giving us whatever we ask for, He is too loving to do so. He is our heavenly Father and is not going to give in to our every whim and sinful desire. God loves us too much to cater to us. Jesus had this to say about the Father: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 ESV). But the key seems to be what we ask for must be within His will. So how do we know God's will? And how do we live obediently, doing what pleases Him? Those things seem to create conditions that make getting what we ask for from God impossible or at least, highly unlikely. As always, context is critical. John has gone out of his way to establish the non-negotiable necessity of abiding in Christ. Jesus Himself established it as the key to fruitfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). Abiding is the key to the behavior that is pleasing to God. God desires fruitfulness. Abiding in Christ makes it possible. But abiding also provides us with an intimate relationship with the Son and the Father that allows us to better know what their will is for us. As we abide, remaining dependent upon and energized by God, we discover what it is that He wants. We learn His will. And we begin to want what He wants. Our desires come in line with His desires. We become less and less driven by cravings for physical pleasure, cravings for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. So what we ask God for becomes increasingly more what He wants and less what we desire. Rather than ask for things that would simply make us happy, we begin to seek those things that would make us holy. Instead of simply asking God to remove the difficulties in our life, we learn to ask Him to use them to make us more like His Son. We begin to ask within His will. Our requests begin to fall in line with what God desires, not what we desire. As we abide in Christ, our hearts are slowly changed to reflect the will of God. So what we ask of Him, we receive. What we desire, He fulfills. Because our wills have come in line with His.