A Prayer of Praise (Audio)

A Prayer of Praise (1 Samuel 2:1-11) Yearly Theme:  “Love Does…” Series Title:  Hopeful in the Meantime November 24th, 2019     Something to think about:   Americans struggle with thankfulness. We are a culture based on consumption, so the very nature of thankfulness is counter cultural. We struggle with thankfulness and praise not only because it’s counter cultural but also because it requires humility. But let’s take a look at Hannah again this week as she sets the perfect example for praising God.   We conclude our story of Hannah today. If you recall, Hannah was a woman who was barren and could not have children, so she asked God for a child and promised to give that child to God if she was able to have one. God granted her request and held up his end of the promise and eventually, when the boy was old enough, Hannah kept her promise and delivered Samuel (the boy) to the temple. Our story picks up directly after she drops Samuel off. Hannah could have chosen to react in many different ways, but she chooses to praise the Lord.   Hannah’s praise is inspiring, let’s take a look…   Turn in your Bibles to: 1 Samuel 2:1-11 2 Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord!     The Lord has made me strong.[a] Now I have an answer for my enemies;     I rejoice because you rescued me. 2 No one is holy like the Lord!     There is no one besides you;     there is no Rock like our God. 3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty!     Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;     he will judge your actions. 4 The bow of the mighty is now broken,     and those who stumbled are now strong. 5 Those who were well fed are now starving,     and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children,     and the woman with many children wastes away. 6 The Lord gives both death and life;     he brings some down to the grave[b] but raises others up. 7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich;     he brings some down and lifts others up. 8 He lifts the poor from the dust     and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes,     placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s,     and he has set the world in order. 9 “He will protect his faithful ones,     but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. 10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven;     the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king;     he increases the strength[c] of his anointed one.” 11 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest. What’s the takeaway?   Key point: “Our hope is in the gift-giver not the gift.”   God’s kingdom is upside We cannot follow God without acknowledging who He is. We cannot praise God without acknowledging His gifts.   Something to take home:   Where are you today? We all have our own struggles but there are many of us who struggle with praising God. We lose track of who God is. We forget or don’t give God credit for the gifts he has given us, often we forget that Gods plan and kingdom look different which changes how we react to situations. I want to encourage you this week to try something. Here are a few practical applications.   First, start each day off by acknowledging who God is, this is as easy as actually verbally saying it each morning. This will radically change your daily perspective. Second, keep a journal or list of all the things throughout the week that we might attribute to luck, or chance or coincidence and attribute those to God. Finally, praise God for those things. I promise you that if you do this you will feel hope. God is right with us, walking and guiding and hurting with us. When we look for Him and praise Him we realize just how good and big and powerful He is, and that brings hope.