Introduction
• Hannah’s experience of grief comes from many years of infertility, rejection, and silent prayers to God. What comes from her painful experiences leads to one of the most profound acts of surrender in all of Scripture.
• If you’ve ever waited, or cried out to God without words—Hannah’s story is a message of hope.
• I’m Brent, and this is episode 45 of The Bible Unplugged. We continue series on people in the Bible who experienced grief with a look at Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel. If you know someone who needs this message, please feel free to share these episodes with them.
• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.
Hannah’s Story
• We learn about Hannah’s experiences from the book of 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. This takes place during the time of the judges in Israel. There was no king. The prevailing ethic was to do what was right in your own eyes instead of following God’s law. It was a time of chaos, idolatry, and spiritual decline.
• The story begins with a guaranteed set up for failure. Elkanah, a man who lived in Ephraim, a territory to the northeast of Jerusalem, had two wives. That can’t turn out well. One was Hannah, pronounced Chanah in Hebrew and means “favored.” His other wife was Penninah, whose names means “jewels.” The problem? Penninah had children. Hannah did not.
• Penninah provoked and harassed Hannah and Hannah grieved her emptiness and refused to eat.
• Elkanah routinely went to worship and sacrifice before God. He went to Shiloh, which was the religious center in Israel before Jerusalem became prominent. Hannah went to worship as well, but we don’t have any of Hannah’s prayers written in the text. She grieved silently before God.
• On on particular trip to Shiloh, Hannah left the family and went to worship alone. After years of bitter tears and silent prayers she made a bargain with God: look on my affliction, grant my request for a child. If the child is a boy, I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life.
• Eli, the priest who heard Hannah’s intense emotional prayer and accused her of being drunk. Hannah pleaded her case. In the book of 1 Samuel 1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him.”
• Hanna was so relieved that from then on she regained her appetite, and her face no longer showed signs of grief and pain. Hannah’s life changed even before God answered her prayer.
• Hannah’s burdened was lifted—not because of immediate results, but because of renewed trust with God.
• Two verses later we find that Hannah is pregnant with a son. She named him Samuel. This is a perfect name. It means “God heard.” God did hear Hannah’s cry of despair when those cries had no words attached and answered the prayer when the time was right.
What Do We Learn from This?
• Hannah’s story teaches us that grief can lead to surrender—and surrender to God invites a divine encounter. Hannah doesn’t demand or try to manipulate God. She simply poured out her heart and left the outcome in God’s hands.
• Pay attention to the order of things in this story. Hannah wanted a child, but she didn’t voice that request earlier in the story. When Hannah reaches a point in her struggle that she voices her desires to God, she got a response. Could it have been that God was waiting until Hannah reached a point where her grief turned to resolve? There are times when we feel pain, rejection, and loss. God often waits until we work through the meaning of the pain and have the confidence to voice that pain to God.
• After Hannah’s prayer was answered in the birth of Samuel, she gave Samuel to the priests in keeping with her promise. After completing her agreement with God, Hannah sings one of the most beautiful songs in all of Scripture in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. We see the rebirth of joy and faith in Hannah’s reply to God. I invite you to read that passage and listen again to episode 16 where discussed the similarities between Hannah’s song and Mary’s song found in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
What Do We Do with This?
• Maybe you have experienced painful and uncomfortable times of waiting for God to show Himself. You may have waited for healing, for an answer to prayer, or for a change in your outlook. Extended periods of grief can make it hard to talk about it anymore. The good news is:
• God hears the prayer you can’t put into words
• He see the tears that fall silently in the night
• And He honor surrender more than eloquent prayers
• There are times when the lack of an answer to a prayer shows that you are still trying to control or manipulate the situation to fit your wants. Hannah’s story shows us that God responds when we give up trying to fix a problem and ask God to show a solution. What are you holding on to that God wants to take care of Himself?
• And, we learn that we don’t have to hide our grief from God or pretend we are okay. Sometimes, just pouring out your soul to God and trusting Him with the outcome is the prelude to a miracle we cannot even imagine.
• This week, set aside time for honest prayer. Not polished prose, or a planned performance—just raw, tear-soaked honesty. Your breakthrough might begin before your prayer is answered just like it did for Hannah.
The conclusion
• Yes, the music means this is the end of this episode. But I’ll be back with more soon.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, take a second to give this podcast a high rating and share it with someone who feels the pain and bitterness that grief and loss can bring.
• I invite you to check out my devotional book “In the Presence… 31 Days of Experiencing God in All You Do.” You can find more information at PowerLoveandMiracles.com or at Amazon.
• In the next episode, we focus on the experience of Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary. Her experience of grief collided with God’s plan for a miracle.
• My prayer for you is that you will let go of the things you are trying to control and allow God to show you a better plan.
• Have a blessed week.
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, I might surprise you with something you didn’t know.
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work.
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license.
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2025 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production.
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