1 Samuel 1:9,10 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

Bitterness of soul. The Hebrew word describes a person dealing with mental embitterment and deep disappointment. Hannah is a woman of God in bitterness of soul. But God used this adversity and difficulty to bring her closer to Him. In this severe case of disappointment, Hannah was brought to the end of herself. She found herself broken before the Lord. She confessed that her barrenness weighed heavily on her heart, and cast herself and the situation on The Lord. This teaches us once against that the best way to obtain relief from trouble is to go to the throne of grace in humble, affectionate, and believing prayer.

Whether your problems are in the realm of family relationships or somewhere else, I know one thing for certain. Each one reading this blog this morning has a set of problems. It goes along with the turf of being human. And it is critical that we think biblically about our problems and learn to handle them as Hannah did by bringing them in prayer to God.

One other thing about prayer and answers to prayer today. Jesus said that we are to pray for our daily bread (to meet our need), but even before that, we are to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The ultimate purpose of prayer is not to solve all our problems so that we can live happy, trouble-free, self-centered lives. The purpose of prayer is to get God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven, and to glorify Him. Selah