撒母耳記上第一章：信心的禱告

前天才發現，原來我與撒母耳的媽媽同名。法文的哈拿就是Anne。哈哈～ ^^感到很榮幸，可以跟這位婦人有同名，我也應當好好學習這位婦人的榜樣。

重點是，我覺得這位哈拿實在很值得學習。
雖然她剛開始人生遭遇非常的委屈。因Elkanah的兩個妻子之間（Peninnah與Hannah），他偏愛的是哈拿，所以哈拿要受Elkanah另個妻子Peninnah的種種折磨。況且，因她沒生育（而當時的社會不生育是個非常嚴重與羞恥的事），她受周圍的人的嘲笑與欺負。
如我以前國中的體育老師曾經說：「這世界本來就不公平」。
但是，她如何面對這一切的不公平呢？
她並沒有用報復的心態或回罵的方式去面對Peninnah的惡毒言語。
她是把她的憂愁與眼淚獻給神，轉向萬能的真神，來向祂乞求：
「萬軍之耶和華阿，你若是看顧使女的困苦，紀念我，不忘記你的使女，賜給使女一個兒子，我就必把他一生獻給耶和華。」（撒上1:11）

而神真賜給哈拿一個兒子，就是之後成為以色列人一個偉大先知的撒母耳（Samuel）。
哈拿也很守約定，把他兒子獻給上帝，把這孩子交託給當時的大祭司以利（Eli）來實習，但依然時常來看顧他。之後，哈拿也生了三個兒子與兩個女兒。

有信心的禱告力量真的極大。
當我們遇到困難，似乎無路可走
當我們工作上被老闆錯怪
被同事欺負與羞辱
我們要選擇怎麼反應？
這世界不公平，
但我們可以選擇如何去面對這不公平。

「我在急難中求告耶和華，他就應允我。」（詩120:1）
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The world is unfair. And it is a fact we cannot control what others do or say, and we cannot change their ways, their thoughts. But we can choose with what kind of attitude we react to them.

Hannah's way of reacting to Peninnah's mockings and evil words, is to weep and turn to God, to ask for God's fair judgement and give her the comfort she needs:
"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." (1Sm 1:11)

People give us despair.
But God gives us hope.

It might seem as though sometimes God is not listening to our prayers, but is it not that He might be planning for something all along and that He is still waiting for the right time to accomplish something greater that we can imagine? It is at an age when she thought she could not birth no more that God chose to let Hannah give birth to Samuel--"finally". But it was no ordinary son she bore. It was a savior to Israel.

Hannah has seen that only turning to God wholeheartedly can open doors. She thus transformed the occasion for self-pity to an occasion for hope and faith.
What shall we do when we meet the various trials of life?
When our boss is torturing us, when our co-workers are making our lives miserable?
When we feel that our world is falling apart because we cannot handle things no more?
May we not take Hannah as a model and turn towards our God?
Praying is letting God work things out, letting him give us the wisdom to carry on.

"In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue."
(Psalms 120:1-2)

(Anne分享）