Good morning people who follow through on the promises you make to God.

1 Samuel 1:27-28 NIV I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshipped the Lord there.

Hannah followed through with her vow to give to the Lord what the Lord had given to her.

Do we do the same?

I feel the Lord is prompting some of you today regarding the promises that you have previously made to God. I sense that some of you have asked the Lord for something, and with it, you made a commitment to Him in some area.

Some of you have followed through on this commitment. Well done. I pray that you continue to walk in the favour and blessing of God.

For others, you know that you have not done what you said you would do. There are many reasons – and some of them even sound valid. But today that Lord is calling you to follow through on what you committed to Him. He is asking you to step into the realm of obedience. I know that you will find favour attached to this.

May we all be people who honour covenant with God.

Good morning people who give back to God what He has given to you.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

Hannah understandably petitioned God, through tears and grief, to give her a son. This was not a once off prayer. This was an ongoing journey that had many difficult moments.

Hannah continued to go to the house of the Lord, and she also continued to talk to God. This is a great example for us all.  

Today I see another insightful and powerful thing that Hannah did: She vowed to give back to the Lord what she was asking the Lord to give to her.

The matter might be very different in your life, but the application is the same for us all.

Do we use for our own benefit what God gives us, or do we offer it back to the Lord to bring Him glory?

How about that promotion, that relationship, that ministry expression, that son, that daughter?

I see a deeper principle here that is relevant to every one of us today: Everything we receive from God belongs to God and is simply to be taken care of by us. This includes our children, as it did for Hannah.

So, what have you been asking God for?

When He provides, do you give it back to Him for His glory?

Good morning people who keep talking to God in the unexplainable times of your life.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

What do you do when you are in deep anguish?

Hannah prayed to the Lord, while weeping bitterly.

God is ok with seeing your emotions and hearing your hurt and your pain. He’s even ok with you having doubts and asking questions.

The most important thing to God is that you come to Him. He alone is the one who can truly meet us in the place of our deepest need.

Talking to God is the best thing you can do in your darkest and most difficult times. Be honest with Him (He knows anyway). Somehow the talking it out with God helps us more than we realise.

And never forget, God loves you with a love that is wonderfully indescribable. Remember, He is for you, not against you. This is the absolute truth.

I pray that something happens in your time with the Lord today.

Good morning people who don’t step back from God when you don’t understand.

1 Samuel 1:5-7 NIV But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

God created women and placed within them the ability to conceive. This was according to His pattern and design. Yet it says that this same Lord closed Hannah’s womb so that she could not conceive.

This fits into the category of something not making sense. This would bring with it a serious of questions and great emotional challenges. And it didn’t happen for just a month or two – it went on year after year.

You and I might face different challenges to Hannah, but these also bring with them some questions. Not everything can be easily put into the right place in our thinking when it comes to what we go through and who God is. This is common to all.

So, what do we do with this?

While there is much that could be said and this is multi-faceted (and I never want to oversimplify your reality), I want to point us to the one thing we see in this scripture.

Hannah continued to go up to the house of the Lord.

Please don’t step back from God or from gathering together with other believers when you go through challenges and questions. We need to walk together, pray together and support each other. We need each other.

Good morning people who encounter God in a variety of ways.

Sometimes I need to kick start my time with God.

People possibly think that it is always easy for me to step straight into the presence of God in my personal times with Him. Not true. Sometimes I am really tired and nothing seems to be doing anything for me (too honest?).

So, what do I do?

I start with what will kick start me into a greater God focus. Let me explain.

Jesus’ time with His Father was largely centred in knowing the scriptures, praying and worship. For most of us, these three things are key components of our time with the Lord and this is wonderful.

But sometimes I am reading God’s Word and feeling nothing. I go to pray and feel nothing. I’m distracted. I’m tired.

So I pause and think about what might help me connect with Father right now.

Then I go with what comes to my mind. It might be watching a sermon by someone else. It might be reading a devotion on my Bible app or a book on my iPad. It might be just going for a walk and being quiet.

What follows is often a spark that kick starts me into time with the Lord. Here’s the point, don’t be religious. Don’t think that you have to do certain things in a certain order. Don’t think that what you are doing is not really a traditional quiet time.

Remember, the Father’s priority is to spend some time with you, and you with Him. He wants to share His heart with you and He wants to hear what’s on your heart. He wants to reveal truth, Spirit to spirit.

I pray you enjoy your time with your heavenly Father today.