Remember Me

We meet many people — at work, around our home, and along the journey of life. But we remember only a few. Some we remember only when we see their face. Some we remember because of an incident that happened with them. Some because of an event in history we shared with them. And some we remember because they are the reason we stand where we stand today.

Remembering is always based on something. Quite often we forget — that is human nature. I am weak at remembering names. More than once I have been embarrassed after calling someone by the wrong name. Each one of us has our own weakness.

But when we read through the book of 1 Samuel, we meet a woman named Hannah who prayed, "Remember me, LORD." And the Word says, "the LORD remembered her."

How can the God of this universe remember us? What should we do to catch His attention so that He remembers us? That is what we learn from Hannah.

Background

Before we come to Hannah’s prayer, let us understand her household.

[1 Samuel 1:1-3 NIV]  1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD.

• The man — Elkanah, an Ephraimite from Ramathaim. He was a Levite by birth and an Ephraimite by where he lived, because Joshua gave the Kohathite Levites towns inside Ephraim’s territory (Joshua 21:5, 20-21).

• His household — two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.

• The burden — Peninnah had children. Hannah had none.

• His devotion — year after year he went up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty.

• The priests — Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli.

The Suffering of Hannah

[1 Samuel 1:4-7 NIV]  4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 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.

A Husband’s Love

• Elkanah loved Hannah. Peninnah and her children received their portions, but to Hannah he gave a double portion of the sacrificial meal, "because he loved her."

• Human love comforts, but only God could answer her.

• Who Closed the Womb?

• The text gives the root of her barrenness plainly — "the LORD had closed her womb."

• God closed it for a purpose. The son she would give back to Him, Samuel, would become the prophet and leader of Israel. It is God’s purpose that prevails.

• Not Because of Sin - Hannah’s barrenness was not caused by sin in her. The text says twice that the LORD closed her womb (verses 5 and 6). When the disciples asked Jesus about a man born blind, He said: [John 9:3 NIV]  3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

The Enemy’s Works

• When God does His work, the enemy also gets to work. Look at verse 6 again — "her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her."

• The enemy knows when God has closed something, and he knows how to use that chance. He used Hannah’s rival, Peninnah, to provoke and irritate her with harsh words.

• So the next time someone irritates you, check the source of the issue inside you. Then do what Hannah did — pray more.

Year After Year

• This tormenting went on year after year. Just as God gives us blessings year after year, He also allows seasons of suffering to see whether we are truly in line with His work before He blesses us. Scripture does not record how long she suffered.

• Notice where the pain happened — at the house of the LORD. Yet Hannah kept going up. Suffering did not stop her worship.

Ask Yourself — What Suffering Do You Want God to Remember?

• Has this situation come back again and again — year after year, or day after day?

• How often have you prayed to God about it?

• How often have you suffered because of it?

• Remember all the insults and anguish it has caused you. Bring every one of them to Him.

Hannah’s Prayer — "Remember Me"

[1 Samuel 1:9-17 NIV]  9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. 11 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." 12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine." 15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." 17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

To the LORD Almighty

• Hannah’s first recorded prayer is to "the LORD Almighty" — in Hebrew, YHWH - the LORD of hosts. The title first appears in the Bible in 1 Samuel 1:3, and Hannah is the first person in Scripture to pray using it (verse 11). A powerless woman calls on the LORD of all armies.

Posture and Place

• Hannah stood up, while Eli the priest sat on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. She did not pour this out somewhere else — she stood at the LORD’s house and prayed before the Lord.

• Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.

• Tears would have been rolling down her face. It was the expression of a broken heart — so much so that Eli thought she was drunk.

From the Heart

• She prayed to the LORD from her heart. Two lines confirm it:

  • [1 Samuel 1:10 NIV]  10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.

  • [1 Samuel 1:13 NIV]  13 Hannah was praying in her heart...

• The cry was so deep that it had to pour out from her heart — weeping bitterly. Her rival’s tormenting words, the insults, and the pain of not having a child were all poured out before the LORD.

• We see the same expression in Jesus at Gethsemane. It came out of deep anguish, knowing He would be separated from the Father: [Luke 22:44 NIV]  44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

• From the Soul - Hannah told Eli, "I was pouring out my soul to the LORD" (verse 15). She had been praying "out of my great anguish and grief" (verse 16).

• When the heart and soul connect with God, prayers are answered. That is a secret we need to learn from Hannah. [1 John 5:14 NIV]  14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

• Hannah’s prayer was honest and wholehearted, and her request lined up with what God was already planning for Israel.

A Prayer with a Vow

She did not just pour out her pain. She also made a vow.

• Under God’s yoke. She called herself "your servant" in verses 11, 16 and 18 — "if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me." A humble attitude before God.

• "Remember me." What a powerful prayer! We rarely ask God to remember us. The thief on the cross prayed the same: [Luke 23:42 NIV]  42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

• A prayer of faith. "Give her a son" — once again she pleaded as a servant.

• A vow for life. In faith she made the vow of a Nazirite — "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." A Nazirite vow was normally for a set time (Numbers 6:5). Hannah’s was for life, like Samson’s (Judges 13:5). And Scripture warns against delaying a vow (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).

• Year after year she had carried the insults. Now she committed to give that very son back to God.

Ask Yourself — Have You Prayed Like Hannah?

• How many prayers are unanswered prayers for you in God’s presence ?

• How often have you prayed to God? Did your anguish pray from deep within your heart, or did you ask someone else to pray for you?

• Hannah did not look for others to pray. She prayed herself, even with Eli right there. The same applies to us — don’t look to anyone else to pray. Pray yourself.

• Pray the prayer, "Remember me, Lord."

• Before you ask Him to remember you, have you humbled yourself and surrendered all that you have? Have you asked God to look inside you and break what needs to be broken? Hannah called herself a servant. Humble yourself.

• When you pray, pray with tears rolling down. He is a God full of mercy who remembers your pain, because He bore the pain on the cross. He remembers your insults and shame, because He was shamed on the cross. For us He took the shame and the insults.

Peace Follows

• When Eli heard Hannah’s side, the first thing he gave her was peace: [1 Samuel 1:17 NIV]  17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

• See that peace in action — her face was no longer downcast: [1 Samuel 1:18 NIV]  18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

• God’s peace (divine peace) is restored her, and her faith was already in action. It is the feeling of already having a son, though the son is not there yet. Her face no longer carried shame. The Lord was turning her shame into joy.

Lessons to Learn

• •  Peace is the mark. After your prayer, does peace follow with the faith that it is done? That is the mark of a "remember me" prayer that God has answered.

God Answered — "The LORD Remembered Her"

[1 Samuel 1:19-20 NIV]  19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

• Worship on the promise. She had waited year after year, yet here we read that early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD. She worshiped on the promise, before she saw the answer.

• The right time. Once they were home at Ramah, the LORD remembered her. Timing matters — God answers at the right time.

• Prayer and answer match. Her prayer was "Remember me." The answer was "and the LORD remembered her."

• Faith fulfilled. She gave birth to a son, just as she had asked in faith, and named him Samuel — "Because I asked the LORD for him."

Shame to Joy — God Did Not Stop There

• Remember the double portion Elkanah gave her? God gave far more. After Hannah kept her vow and dedicated Samuel to the LORD at Shiloh, the womb that was once closed did not open just once: [1 Samuel 2:21 NIV]  21 And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

• The woman who wept at Shiloh year after year became the mother of six. She gave her one son to God, and God gave her five more. God turned her shame into joy.

Do We Pray Like This for God's Work?

Like Hannah, we often pray this way when we need something from the Lord. But do we pray this way for the Lord’s work? Hannah prayed in spirit and in truth, and showed us a way we should all follow:

[John 4:23-24 NIV]  23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

And when we don’t know what to pray, God helps us in our weakness:

[Romans 8:26 NIV]  26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Like Hannah — God Remembered These People

1.  Abraham — Abraham interceded for Sodom (Genesis 18:23-32), and God remembered him. [Genesis 19:29 NIV] 29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

2.  Noah — [Genesis 8:1 NIV]  1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Scripture does not record a prayer from Noah in the ark. God remembered him because of His covenant (Genesis 6:18).

3.  Hannah — [1 Samuel 1:19 NIV]  19 ...Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

4.  Cornelius — [Acts 10:4 NIV]  4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God." [Acts 10:31 NIV]  31 "Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor."

5.  Rachel — [Genesis 30:22 NIV]  22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.

When God remembers, He acts. He rescued Lot, ended the flood, opened Hannah’s and Rachel’s wombs, and opened the gospel to the Gentiles through Cornelius. The thief’s prayer, "Jesus, remember me," was answered at the cross:

Lessons to Learn

• He is waiting to help. God is not slow to rescue us. He is waiting for this moment to help us, because the God who remembers is the God who heals: [Psalm 147:3 NIV]  3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

• He will remember you too. If He remembered all these people, He will remember us — we are His people. He is an impartial God. He knows we are dust, mere mortals and helpless, and He can help us. So cry out to Him, and wrestle with your tears until He remembers you.

Lord, Remember Me

People remember us for a face, an incident or an event. But the LORD of hosts does not forget His own. He remembered Noah in the ark, Lot in Sodom for Abraham’s sake, a Roman centurion in Caesarea, and a weeping woman at Shiloh. He will remember you.

So let us pray the way Hannah prayed:

LORD Almighty, You are the LORD of hosts, and I am Your servant. You know what I have carried year after year — the tears, the insults and the shame. Today I pour out my heart and my soul before You. Look on Your servant’s misery, and remember me. Search me, break what needs to be broken, and humble me before You. Whatever You give me, I give back to You for Your work. Give me Your peace, so that I walk away from this prayer believing it is done. You bore my pain and my shame on the cross, so I know You will not forget me. Jesus, remember me. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Hannah asked, "Remember me." The LORD remembered her. He will remember you too.