At three extremely important transitions in Bible history, we have accounts of unusual birth experiences. Of course most noticeable is the birth of Jesus to a virgin, Mary - this signaled the beginning of what we now know as the Christian era. The beginning of the Jewish era was also signaled by an unusual birth, that of Isaac to his 90 year old, formerly barren mother, Sarah.

But there's still another account of an unusual birth which created a kind of bridge from the period of the Judges to that of the Kings and Prophets. The man who stood at this junction was the Judge/Prophet/King-Maker, Samuel. The story that sets him apart is that of his mother Hannah, who, along with Mary and Sarah becomes one of the outstanding mothers of all time.

Hannah's name is a give-away, it means "grace". Surely as we look at her story, we will see that her experience was characterized by grace, both in terms of the favor she found with God, as well as the way in which she dealt with her situation.

Hannah has also come to represent a whole class of women, those who deeply long to have children of their own; but for some reason, known or unknown, they are unable to do so. But we also view Hannah as a model mother, and with good reason. At his birth she dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord's work, and when the time came, she kept her promise and left him in the temple to be prepared for a life of ministry unto the Lord. But let's not forget, hers was not an easy path. She was not a woman without troubles.

The biggest problem for Hannah was simply that she could not give birth, and within the culture that she lived, that was an extremely heavy burden to bear. To make matters even worse, she lived during a time when polygamy was acceptable, and she found herself compared with, and despised by, another woman - Peninnah, the other wife of her husband, Elkanah. Peninnah apparently had no trouble getting pregnant, and she was cruel in her taunts of Hannah.

Let me pause to ask the question, is polygamy supported in the Bible? We do have accounts which recognize its existence, but we also have stories like Hannah's to remind us that even though it was practiced, there were good reasons to abandon it. Perhaps when tribal wars were so destructive of the male population polygamy was tolerated as a means to make sure that the population wouldn't become decimated.

On one of my trips to India I had the opportunity to make a day visit to the city of Agra, home city to the Taj Mahal. Our guide for the day was a Moslem man who knew enough English to make light talk as we traveled throughout the city. I was amused when he asked me how many children, and how many wives I had, so I turned the question back to him. He had four children - then he said, "I only have one wife . . . that's all I can afford."

Whatever the reason that applied at that time, and even now in other parts of the world, the fact is that polygamy is still practiced throughout America. No I'm not talking about the few Mormon families that win great publicity by refusing to conform to the expected one man - one woman pattern. I'm talking about "serial polygamy", the practice of both men and women to marry, divorce, and remarry as many times as they feel like it, often with grave consequences to their own spiritual and emotional well-being, as well as that of children and other family members.

Please note that when God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden, he didn't say, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wives: and they shall be one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

But let's go back to our story of Hannah. The other wife, it is said, "provoked" Hannah even to the point of tears, and resulting in her refusal to eat. In our day we have a word for this, it's "harassment"! Why is it that all the attention goes to harassment which is across gender lines, mostly men are accused of harassing women, like the one in the news this week - a male general was faulted by a female general for harassing her over 2 years ago. But in the story of Hannah we have a different kind, one woman harassing another. Shouldn't there be a law against that too? As Christians, we must be extremely careful not to provoke others by our words, rather, always looking for ways to build up one another rather than tear down like Peninnah did to Hannah.

How did Elkanah respond to this? Well, give him some credit, he tried to be understanding and supportive, telling Hannah how much he loved her ("am not I better to thee than ten sons?" - 1 Samuel 1:8). To prove it, he gave her a double portion at the feast. However, it didn't work then, and it doesn't work now - don't try to solve emotional distress by means of more food. As hard as he tried, even a loving husband couldn't remove the deep anguish and pain Hannah felt. So she turned in another direction - her response becomes a model for us. Hannah turned to the Lord.

First, we learn that she wept (v.10) "in bitterness of soul". It seemed to her that she just couldn't take it anymore. It was too much to bear. The shame, the lack of fulfillment, the taunting looks and even words of the other woman; watching the children of the other wife playing in the yard, perhaps the attention shown to them by their father - the hopelessness, the despair. Does it feel that way to you sometimes? Perhaps not for the same reason as Hannah's, but you feel as helpless. And the tears want to flow. The first response was hers, bitter tears. Let them flow - there's nothing wrong with tears - but let it be in the presence of the Lord, and be quick to get to the next step.

Let the crying turn into praying. Let's notice these points about Hanna's prayer:

She prayed "in her heart" (v.13). Yes, her lips were moving, but no words were uttered. Perhaps this was the kind of prayer Paul spoke about in Romans 8:26, "with groans which cannot be uttered." For some, it may even be praying "in an unknown tongue", the language supplied by the Spirit to pray for ones own and others' needs even when full understanding is lacking.

Notice also that Hannah "poured out her soul' (v.15) as she prayed. This was not a superficial prayer, a surface prayer - it was prayer from the center of her being. It reminds us of the familiar words of the Psalmist included in our songs, "Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul", and "Bless the Lord, O my soul."

The priest, Eli, wasn't very discerning that day - maybe he had other things on his mind, like the troubles in his family (2:12-17). He evidently thought that Hannah was nothing but a drunken, temple prostitute. She had to explain to him that she was praying, and that her prayer was coming out of her "anguish and grief" (v.16).

We also want to see that Hannah was persistent with her prayer. Verse 12 says that she prayed, and "kept on praying."

As part of her prayer, Hannah also made a vow (v.11). Actually, it sounds more like a bargain than a vow - "if you will do ______, then I will do _______" Like the soldier who prays, "God, if you get me home alive, I'll become a minister." Or the smoker who prays, "God, if you'll help me kick this habit, I'll work harder than anyone to keep cigarettes away from children and teenagers." Or like so many people, "Lord if you happy me, I promise I'll go to church every Sunday." "Lord, if you bless my new company, I promise I'll give you a tenth of all I earn."

Do you think that's a good idea? To try to strike a bargain with God?

However, before we are too quick to either condemn or condone such behavior, let's remember that Hannah had nothing to bargain with, she was simply making a vow to give back to God what was already His. And even if hers was a kind of bargain, it was a bargain with a vow, and she kept it. She evidently understood what Solomon would later say, "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:4)

Notice also how God blessed her with additional children - hers became a family of three sons and two daughters (2:21).

Then Hanna received the promise spoken by Eli (v.17) - she accepted it, and she believed it, she rejoiced, broke her fast, and smiled ("her face was no longer downcast" v.18). And finally, Hannah worshipped the Lord (v.19). And what's important for us to see is that all this was prior to the fulfillment of the promise!

So what is it in your life that brings you to tears? What is it that causes bitterness and anguish of soul? ( "bitterness" can also mean "chafed", "angry", "discontented", or "heavy": "grief" can also mean "anger", "vexation", or "provocation".)

Whatever it is, let's follow Hannah's example: turn the crying into praying, become persistent in prayer, make your vow before the Lord, and believe the promise.