| Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
In 1 Samuel 1 and 2, we see a woman named Hannah praying desperately for a child and promising the Lord that if he gave her a child, he would be dedicated to the Lord. We see that the Lord heard her desperate prayer, and eventually, she conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, which means, “I asked the Lord for him.”
She raises this child to about one year old, and in 1 Samuel 1:22, she tells her husband, “But Hannah told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and permanently leave him there with the Lord.”
In verses 27-28, Hannah says, “I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord for his whole life. And they worshiped the Lord there.”
Many people make promises to God, and then God answers the prayer, but we do not keep our promises to the Lord. How often do we promise God that we will change, and then we do not? How often do we promise God that I will go to church if you get me out of this? How many times do we make promises but then forget about them?
Hannah prayed for a child. The Lord answered and gave her the child. She promised that he would be given to the Lord for all the days of his life. Can you imagine raising a baby for one year and then giving him over to the Tabernacle to be raised for his entire life?
When we dedicate our children to the Lord, we say, “I am giving this child back to the Lord. Lord, this child belongs to You, and we give them back to You.
Prayer is desperate before the answer, and prayer is surrender after the Lord has given us the answer. If God has blessed you, we may not be desperate anymore, but we must remember that we must surrender every blessing to God and His Will for our lives!
Remember this song: “All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him. In His presence daily live. All to Jesus, I surrender. Humbly at His feet, I bow. Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus, I surrender. Make me Savior wholly Thine. May the Holy Spirit fill me. May I know Thy power divine.
The chorus says: I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee my blessed Savior. I surrender all, I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior.
Lord, I make that my prayer today!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
