Sisters in Faith
Pray Without Ceasing
Elkanah really loved Hannah; but God had shut up her womb (which means it was God’s will, at the time, for her to not have children). Having children in those days was an indication of status, stature, and blessing; so, although it was not the plan of God, Elkanah took another wife, Peninnah, to bear his children. Peninnah rubbed Hannah’s barrenness in her face. Finally, out of her misery, Hannah prayed and prayed, and never gave up praying or believing that God would one day give her a child. God did answer her prayers and Hannah kept her promise: she gave her son, Samuel, over to the service of God. To honor her for keeping her promises, God blessed her with five more children. We are commanded to pray without ceasing. When we keep this command, God will not fail to honor our prayers and to answer them in His time, according to His will. As it was with Hannah, God’s outcome is always worth the wait. (1, p.99, 100)
Excerpt from She Speaks: Wisdom from the Women of the Bible to the Modern Black Woman
© 2013 by Michele Clark Jenkins