For this child I prayed; and the LORD has granted me my petition which I made to him.
1 Samuel 1 :27
Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore, let your words be few. – Ecclesiastes 5:2
The Story of Hannah always moves me. There are some words in the sacred scripture that I read on my knees, one such scripture is 1 Samuel 1 :27. You may wonder what’s so special about this verse: let’s go deeper into sacred scripture. A vow is a free promise made to God in return of a better good; it is also an act of devotion (refer to CCC 2102).
In Hannah’s story, she makes a vow and the beauty of this is the sheer faith Hannah had. Desperate situation calls for desperate resolution, and Hannah goes into absolute ‘vow’ mode. At God’s temple during her time of desperate prayer, she sees in Faith a Child and in seeing the Child through the eyes of Faith she makes a vow, a promise to God that, that child will be given to the Lord.
Now you make ask: did Hannah really see Little Samuel through her eyes of Faith before she made the vow? The answer is Yes! Proof – Hannah Says, ‘For THIS CHILD I Prayed!’, THIS CHILD, not a random one. When God gives her a child, she is specific and in that assurance makes the vow. Now that’s a prayer! How is your prayer life my dear brother & sister in Christ? Do you see in your Prayer room, the fulfillment of your specific promise through the eyes of Faith or are your Prayers “if’s and but’s”?
A Vow Fulfilled
We also see something marvelous when the vow is fulfilled. 1 Samuel 1:28b says: ‘She left him there for the Lord.’ Depending on which translation you read or the foot notes in your Bible, you will also see ‘And they worshiped the LORD there’ or the child was left in order to Worship the Lord there. In other words, any vow that does not end in Worship is not a vow. A Vow made to God results in Self-giving, only a person who has given himself/herself to God can give his Son / Daughter for the work of the Lord be it Holy Matrimony or consecrated religious life .
Worship and Sacrifice
So, a vow results in Worship and worship has the element of Sacrifice. In Romans 12:1, St Paul says: ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship’. This is what Hannah did and in her footsteps Samuel did in the Old Testament. If the New Testament is the fulfillment of Old, we see in our Blessed Mother, Hannah, & in Our Lord Jesus, Samuel. In fact, when Jesus sings the Halel (the song of Praise at the Last supper table), he quotes Psalm 116:16 ‘O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your servant girl.’ Jesus recalls his Mother’s total obedience to the will of God and looks forward to this own self giving on the cross (Spiritual Worship).
At Your Manger
Even as we are days away from celebrating the birth of Our Savior, I encourage you to spend some time at your “manger”, that is the nativity scene you have set in your house, your dorm room or your Church. Gaze at Baby Jesus and ask yourself this question: why did Jesus come as a Child?
To offer himself on the cross as The Perfect Act of Worship and the only true gift that you and I can give to God and each other this Christmas is the constant and total fulfillment of Romans 12:1 in our lives. ‘I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship’. Will you offer yourself to God and give him the Gift of Spiritual Worship?
May you all have a Blessed Season of Spiritual Worship this Christmas . God bless!
Thank you Daniel. My grandfather would occasionally make a vow as part of a petition. His faith was such that he would then begin prayers of thanksgiving for God’s answer even before the answer was received. I would ask him why think before receiving the petition you prayed for, and he would say “there’s no merit to thanking someone after it’s been given, faith is only present when you trust that God will do what you ask and therefore you don’t need to wait for it before thanking him.“ I thought you might appreciate that.
Amen ! Thank you Jerry for that wonderful reminder , Thanksgiving is indeed an act of Faith !