[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 2:1 (NIV) “Then Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.’”

[Meditation]

Hannah’s prayer shows us the song of salvation that the Bible says belongs to the saints. Her joy was not merely because she had received a son, but a joy that came “in the LORD,” a joy in the “deliverance” of the Lord who had lifted her high before her enemies. A prayer that once poured out a troubled heart with tears has now become a song of praise to the God of salvation.

This great song of reversal does not end with Hannah alone. Later, Mary, the mother of Jesus, brings it to its climax, praising God with the very same heart.

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:52-53)

In the end, Hannah’s song is a song that praises the reign of God, which overturns the values of the world. As Hannah’s song praises, the hungry are filled (v. 5), the barren woman bears seven children (v. 5), and the poor are raised from the dust to sit with princes (v. 8). This is precisely our prayer today, the prayer of the saints, confessing that we who had lost everything and were in a place without hope have received new life in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, the very fact that He allows us to pray is itself a grace, a taste of the blessing of the kingdom of God. The Lord calls those who live by this paradoxical grace “blessed” (as in the Beatitudes).

[Prayer]

Lord, You place me in a position of prayer. In that place, You have me look only to You and pray. And through that prayer, You lead me to confess that You alone are my everything. This is grace. Let this be a new day of enjoying this grace. Amen.
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[Daily Reading]

1 Samuel 1:19-2:8