Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 1 Samuel 1:13
When my wife and I would spend a weekend visiting Annie Haines, it was not unusual to be awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of Annie praying in the next room. Unlike Hannah in our text, Annie’s habit was to pray aloud. She was one of the most outstanding prayer warriors I have ever known, and even in the wee hours of the night, there was great comfort in hearing her pray, although I couldn’t make out the words through the walls. I knew that among all of her many requests of the Lord, she prayed for me. And I have often wondered how different my life has been because of Annie’s prayers. I am convinced the difference is huge. But what if someone else had awakened in the middle of the night to hear her pray, somebody who didn’t know Annie’s God or know the power of prayer. They would have been as confused as Eli in our text, and might have made assumptions just as wrong.
What does the world know about prayer? Many will pay lip service to prayer, speak of prayers for those who are grieving or sick, and many official functions include a formal little ‘grace’ to mark the start of the meal. Otherwise, it’s just a religious function that has no relevance in their lives. How different the prayers of the child of God, who like Hannah regularly and devotedly enter God’s presence in prayer with petitions and praise! Hannah knew all about prayer, and she knew the God to whom she prayed. Although her prayers were silent, they were so intense that her lips moved. And Eli didn’t understand. That did not stop Hannah from praying. And the world’s lack of understanding, even the world’s mocking, should never interfere with our prayers, either.
Prayer makes a huge difference in each of our lives, and Christians are different from the world because we pray. Committing ourselves to our God each day gives us power to live Christ-like lives, allows us to have a peace and confidence that the world envies, and shelters us from the world’s evils. But prayer is not the only activity in which the world makes wrong assumptions about Christians. The world will mock our reading of the Bible, claiming it is irrelevant and outdated, while ignoring the reality that those who daily read the Scriptures are more generous, kind, honest, and diligent than those who don’t. The world will condemn our ‘politically incorrect’ rejection of the immoral lifestyles around us, ignoring the certain judgments that they are bringing on themselves.
Thank God that it is the world, and not ourselves, that is in the wrong. May God preserve us in honouring Him regardless of what the world thinks. -Jim MacIntosh