FEAST: 30 Days of Real Truth for Real LifeSample

Day 20: Hannah—Give and Take

Snack

1. Pouring out our hearts before God is never wasted.
2. Every gift from God can be entrusted back to Him.
3. Surrender leads to joy, even when it costs.

Appetiser

Have you ever longed for something so deeply that you found yourself making promises to God in prayer?

Main Course

Hannah’s story begins with deep sorrow. Unable to have children, she wept bitterly before the Lord. In her anguish she prayed,“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” (1 Samuel 1:11 NIV).

Her prayer was not polished but heartfelt. Eli the priest at first mistook her grief for drunkenness, but Hannah explained that she was pouring out her soul before the Lord. God hears the prayers we can barely form into words.

In time, God answered, and Samuel was born (1 Samuel 1:19–20). True to her vow, once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him to the temple. She told Eli,“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” (1 Samuel 1:27–28 NIV).

Hannah’s act of surrender is striking. The very gift she longed for, she entrusted back to God. Her obedience shows us that what God gives is never ours to clutch tightly, but to steward faithfully.

In response, Hannah prayed again—this time not in anguish, but in praise. She declared,“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high” (1 Samuel 2:1 NIV). Her song celebrated God’s strength, faithfulness, and power to reverse situations.

Hannah’s journey reminds us that prayer is both give and take. We bring our burdens and longings before God, and when He answers, we hold those gifts with open hands. True joy is found not in keeping what we’re given, but in releasing it back to the Giver.

Like Hannah, may we learn to pray with honesty, receive with gratitude, and surrender with trust.