God used Hannah’s prayer to change the trajectory of a nation. In the book of Judges we read about the wild west of Israel’s history. Now after the book of Ruth, a beautiful respite after Judges, we move towards the dynasty of Kings. Of course none of them will be perfect, and some will be wicked. But among the lineage of kings reigning over Israel and Judah we get David, Solomon, Josiah, Hezekiah, and other winners. 1 Samuel is the book that begins the shift from judges to kings, and Scripture draws our attention first to prayer. The book doesn’t just start with Samuel on the scene, the leader who anoints King Saul and King David. By intentional design the Bible starts with a focus on prayer, particularly that of Samuel’s mother Hannah. Hannah so desperately wants a son. Although her husband Elkanah loves her, she is constantly provoked by her rival to the point of tears. The Bible doesn’t say the rival is Elkanah’s other wife Penninah, but Elkanah’s favoritism makes it probable. There’s an echo of the Rachel and Leah story here. But Hannah starts praying her heart out before the Lord. Apparently this type of thing didn’t happen very often because Eli thought she was drunk! You’d think people fervently praying in places of worship would be in the realm of reasonable expectation, but not in those days. The fact that such fervent prayers were out of place helps explain something described in 1 Samuel 3:1, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare.” When prayer is lacking, the word of the Lord is rare. So good ol’ Eli gets up from his chair to scold Hannah for the reverence of the Lord’s house and for her own safety to put away her wine. Eli stands to be corrected and blesses Hannah in her departure. He never asks what her prayer request was, but does invoke the name of the Lord that it may be granted. Hannah goes back to her home, and Eli goes back to his chair. Did you catch in your reading the thing about Eli in his chair? In 1 Samuel 4:18, Eli is in his chair again, as per usual, when news comes that the Ark of the Covenant has been captured by the Philistines. Eli falls out of his chair and dies. He’s an important man sitting in an important chair: that’s what kings and rulers do! Scripture isn’t random when it mentions that he’s led for 40 years or that he falls out of the chair. Eli has been dethroned. It’s time for something new and different. Yet where did this all start? It all started with prayer. Not just prayer, but a pray-er, a person who prays. Everything worth talking to God about is worth a prayer, and every prayer needs a pray-er. And every pray-er needs a prayer; words are optional! (Romans 8:26-28) God truly does work all things for good, and it is remarkable how often in Scripture that starts with a pray-er in prayer! - Pastor Steven