Focus: God Answers Prayer!

Text: 1Sam.1:27

"For this child I prayed…"

Samuel was God's answer to Hannah's prayer. Hannah stood before Eli, carrying her child in her arms. She said to Eli, "For THIS child I prayed…" She was already carrying in her hands the answer to her prayer. She prayed in tears and with a heavy heart, and now she was in church testifying to the glory of God. In her hands was a visible and tangible proof that God hears and answers the prayers of His people. Samuel was a visible and tangible proof that God answered Hannah's prayer.

Samuel's name means that God has heard, and that implied that Hannah called on God and asked for a favor from Him. Each time you read about Samuel, you are reminded that he was a visible manifestation of an answered prayer.

God will respond when you call. God never fails to grant your request, especially when your request is not frivolous. Paul says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil.4:6). 

Child of God, don't let your seemingly unanswered prayers stop you from making your requests known to your God! Satan and his cohorts are always trying to discourage you from praying. They present to your mind many of your prayers seemingly unanswered, thereby making you feel like it is needless to pray, and even when you pray, you are not sure that God is going to come through for you. Every day you are less and less confident in your prayers. 

It is always by faith that you can silence the demons and kick them out of your life and space. You need to reassure yourself that regardless of how things appear on the surface, that God answers prayer.

He can't tell you to pray and then be unwilling to hear and respond to your prayers.

We read that "Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested" (1Chron.4:10). God granted Jabez his request and changed the story of his life. I believe that God will answer your prayers and put something in your hands as a testimony to that effect.

Now let's get back to Hannah's story. We read, "And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore" (1Sam.1:10). Her pain was deep and her heart was heavy. Yet, amid her pain and heavy heart she prayed, pouring out her heart to God. In the end she said to Eli, "For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him" (1Sam.1:27). 

I am absolutely convinced that God will grant you the prayer of your heart. God did it for Hannah and for Jabez, and I trust that He will do it for you. You will soon hold in your hands the answers to your prayers.

God is your father; He will attend to your prayers and meet your needs. He will take away the pain in your heart and the sorrow in your soul. He will take tears away from your eyes and lift your spirit. You will soon say like Hannah, "For this child I prayed…" You will soon carry your 'baby' in your hands. You will look back and see how far God has brought you. You will look in your hands or look around you and see the proof of your prayers. Keep praying until you start seeing answers! Surely, answers are on the way for you. You will testify to it.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter