Aristotle once said “a promise made must be a promise kept”! Through the beautiful scriptures we find mortals making promises to the Almighty God, who takes them at their word, and blesses them. Once there was a man  called “Elkanah son of Jeroham… who had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none” (1 Samuel 1: 1-2).  To make matters worse, “her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her” (vv 6).

In her anguish Hannah, did an amazing thing. She turned to God and made a promise if only He could come to her rescue and relieve her of her burden. “Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.  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..” (vv 10-11).

The Lord heard Hannah, and gave her hearts desire; a child was born to her. Hannah did not forget the promise she made to God, “She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him” (vv 20). But Hannah even went beyond; much as she had longed for a child, she decided to dedicate her son Samuel into the service of the Lord. She took him to Eli the priest and reminded him of her promise, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord” (vv 27- 28).

Any of us could be faced with a situation, no less severe than the infertility Hannah grappled with, causing us a lot of heartache. Taking after Hannah, we might just as well make a promise to God and say the Lord’s prayer, “let thy will be done!”

And where the Lord honors our prayer request, let us hasten to honor our promise. Incidentally, we later find Samuel would grow into a mighty man of God who among others anointed King David, recognized by all, as a prophet from God. You can imagine how pleased his mother, Hannah, was!

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I submit a gentle request with a promise, that once you honor it according to your will, I will remember the good thing you did for me, and  gladly fulfill my promise to you as Hannah did; this I pray in Jesus’s name.