Today’s Reading:
1Samuel 2:1-10
“And Hannah prayed, and said, ‘My heart rejoices in the Lord. I smile at my enemies Because I rejoice in your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him, actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble. The Lord kills and makes alive, He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s. And He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength, no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven, He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king And exalt the horn of His anointed.” Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah, But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.”
(1Samuel 2:1-11, NKJV)
Hannah, mother of Samuel’s prayer like most psalms of praise, speaks volumes. Her declaration of who God is can only be produced as fruit from a heart with an intimate relationship with God, that has developed over the years, in the midst of trials and tribulations, oppression, and persecution. “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him (alone) you shall hold fast and take oaths in His name. 21He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.” (Deut. 10:20-21). This is Moses discussing the essence of the Law to the people of Israel.
Hannah led by the Spirit of God prophetically spoke about the future king the Father would give His people Israel, that is Jesus Christ (v.10). This prayer is similar to Mary the mother of Jesus’s song of praise – ‘the Magnificat’ (Luke 1:46-55; and also, to Zacharias, John the Baptist father’s song of praise (Luke 1:68-79). We will see that Hannah not only praise the mightiness of God, but she also talked about what God has done for her. When the Lord suddenly appeared in situations of our lives - Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne even (v. 5). Here referring to Hannah who later had three more sons and two daughters, after Samuel. “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your Salvation.” (v. 1). The Lord had strengthened her to have a child. Horn was a symbol of strength in ancient Israel. We serve a powerful and awesome God, who is full of compassion and slow to anger. As the works of God’s hand, He loves us and is very concerned about all human beings. This is why He gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die as a lasting sweet-smelling sacrifice unto Him, for the atonement of the sin of the whole world. It is this grace the wicked ignorantly are enjoying and are seeing as their own strength and foolish wisdom. Because God does not want the death of a sinner, but rather that he/she should turn from his/her wicked ways, turn to God, and be saved.
You are reading this, are depressed and of a heavy heart. Is it for the fruit of the womb, from pains sustained from the wicked slave masters, from the death of loved one, from the ravaging pestilence - COVID 19, from the wickedness of man to man, from the brutality of bloodthirsty agents of darkness’ daily senseless killings of the innocent, and there seems to be no end. Be assured that we have a Mighty Fortress, a Refuge in time of storms of life, and the Lifter up of our head who will never fail us. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is ever near us than we can imagine. He will not leave us mid-stream to sink. But it is a pity that, when sinners are being punished, the righteous bear out of the punishment. This is where the mercy of God comes in. Because those who are spared are not better than those who were not spared, but for the mercy of God. May the overshadowing presence of the Almighty be over us and our loved ones, in Jesus name. I pray that the Lord would speedily intervene in the situation of our land and come to our rescue, in Jesus name.
The evil and wickedness of man will certainly be judged. But when? And How? We do not know. The answer lies in the prerogative of the God of heaven and earth who has established the world by His wisdom, and He is in control. But we have this assurance that the wicked and those conniving with them will be judged (vv. 9-10). Who are we to question the workings of God? We must not be weary of praying; we continue to pray until our joy is full. I pray for divine healing for those that are sick - bodily, or spiritually. The Great Physician will visit you with His mercy and healing power, in Jesus name. To those whose dwelling or possessions have been displaced, the Lord our Defender, our Mighty Fortress, our Refuge, and the Lifter up of our heads will visit us speedily and put the enemies of our progress to shame, in Jesus name. God will wipe away our tears, put laughter in our mouth and put new songs in our mouth, in Jesus name.
The wicked will surely be judged, and the wickedness of the wicked will come to an end. By strength, horses, and multiple weapons of war shall no man prevail. I pray God sends His warrior angels to the four corners of our land to fight battles daily confronting us, in Jesus name. The adversaries of the Lord shall definitely be broken in pieces, they shall be grounded to dust and the divine whirlwind shall blow the dust away. God will give us strength, encourage our faith in Him and will surely exalt the horn of our salvation. And we shall see our desire upon the enemies of our peace and progress (vv. 8b-10).
Have you surrendered your life to the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ? For by His name, the nations of the world shall be saved from the condemnation coming upon the earth. For He has been highly exalted and given a name which is above whatsoever name named here on earth and in the world to come. And at the mention of Jesus, every knee shall bow (Phil. 1:9).
OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE
Prayer:
Father, thank You for giving us Our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the precious blood that was shed to redeem our souls from condemnation and death, in Jesus name.
Thank You for wiping tears from our eyes and healing our wounds, in Jesus name.
Thank you for giving a wretch like me, lasting hope beyond the skies, in Jesus name.
We bind and paralyse every plan and strategy of the enemy against the body of Christ especially in our nation, in Jesus name.
By the power in the blood of Jesus, we command all works of the flesh in the body of Christ to die, in Jesus name.
Father, let stones of fire from heaven fall upon every national satanic operation and activity in our land, in Jesus name.
Father, let the strongman in charge of our nation be bound, woefully fail, and be disgraced, in Jesus name.
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