The
irony that I heard Hannah is that “her lips were moving but her voice was not
heard” (1 Samuel 1:13 NIV). But I
definitely heard in my spirit “Hannah” at the end of our church service
(5/8/2016). I knew immediately that it
meant a glorious breakthrough was imminent in a similar pattern as the story of
Hannah played out—she who birthed the great prophet Samuel. As it was testified of Samuel—“Not one of his
words fell to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19)—so I testify of what God is birthing
now by the resurrecting testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophesy: a
prophetic anointing so strong as to make not one word of that true testimony fall
to the ground.
At the near time of the glory departing from Israel a barren
woman in great anguish of heart prayed so earnestly that she “poured out her
soul before the Lord” until she had nothing left to vocalize. That of course was Hannah, whose name means
“gratuitous gift.” Peninnah, the other
wife of Hannah’s husband Elkanah, whose name means “pearls,” makes for an
interesting contrast. Pearls develop in
excruciating pain but in beautiful form and luster when an intruder enters into
an oyster’s world and IRRITATES ITS MANTLE. “Because the Lord had closed
Hannah’s womb, her rival [Peninnah] kept provoking her in order to irritate
her. This went on year after year” (1
Samuel 1:6-7 NIV).
Finally “In her deep anguish 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...and
the Lord remembered her. So in
the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I
asked the Lord for him’” (1 Samuel 1:10-11, 19-20 NIV).
The backdrop of Hannah’s time, besides a near, constant and
irritating rivalry inside her home, was a blind and impotent religion,
government and society. A famine of the
full and true word of God is irritating and provoking many souls to pour
themselves out before the Lord until prayer percolates in their hearts and
becomes unspeakable to natural ears. As
David—who was anointed by Samuel—said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue
from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked. So I remained utterly silent, not even saying
anything good. But my anguish increased;
my heart grew hot within me. While
I meditated, the fire burned; THEN I SPOKE WITH MY TONGUE [emphasis
mine]” (Psalm 39:1-3 NIV).
Hannah, year after year, watched her antagonist prosper
while anguish and barrenness was all she received. But like as one Samuel is greater than a
thousand Sauls and worth the protracted wait and pain, so one word spoken in
season and under the anointing is worth more than a thousand words spoken out
of turn and without God upholding them.
Not long after Samuel was weened, Hannah fulfilled her vow
to the Lord to give him over fully to the Lord.
Just as Sarah’s womb had to die before the promised child Isaac (meaning
“laughter”) could be miraculously born, so Hannah’s womb only came alive from
the dead to birth Samuel (meaning “heard of God”) after she died to herself
fully by pouring out her soul to emptiness in straitened prayer. Desperate times require desperate measures,
and just as Hannah had to sacrifice her firstborn son in order to have other
sons, so we are brought to a sacrificial crises. Many are those who quote Revelation 12:11 as
“They triumphed over him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” without finishing the thought that they also “DID
NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES SO
MUCH AS TO SHRINK FROM DEATH [emphasis mine]” (NIV).
