The 'Drunk' Prayer Warrior.

Welcome back! Let's start today's story with a question. Have you ever needed something from God so bad that whenever you pray with all fervidness (I just learnt this word hehehe) some people begin to wonder if you're drunk or mad?! Bible students probably know where I'm headed! We've all had such moments. Today we are travelling to the Hill country of Ephraim to talk about another love triangle. I promise you I'm not only about love triangles.

Yeah... That's one dashing young'ish man called Elkanah! He had two wives, Penninah and Hannah. Back in the day, it was culturally acceptable to marry more than one wife, but Jesus came and the rest is history. For those of you who wish you were born in that era, better luck next time. So, Elkanah had children but with his older wife Penninah. Hannah was barren, yet Elkanah loved her so much. He made sure she knew the measure of love he had for her. Those who frustrate their wives for not having kids after marriage, come and learn work from Elkanah my man! God is the giver of children, not man!

Yearly, Elkanah and his family went up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty. Whenever it was time for the sacrifice, Elkanah would give one portion to Penninah and all her children, but to Hannah he would give double portion because he loved her and the Lord had closed her womb. "Chop meat and have peace of mind my darling wife. Pikin go come in due time. Eat suya!"

Let me quickly introduce you to the priest in the Holy Place at the time. His name was Eli and he had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They were the 'Indaboskis' of the Hill country of Ephraim at the time. As priests, they did the exact opposite of what God asked them to do, yet Eli their Dad could not do anything to stop them. Was Eli a bad parent? Discussion for another day.

Back to Elkanah and his two wives Penninah and Hannah. Peninnah had children of her own and Hannah didn't. Every year, and days in-between, Penninah made it  point of duty to mock and torment Hannah because of her state of childlessness. Hannah would weep bitterly and fast involuntarily because she was too emotionally drained to eat Elkanah's Suya amongst other things. Poor Hannah.

Every time she wept, Elkanah was there to console her. See eh, some men will see you cry and just 'face front' and allow you deal with it on your own. Elkanah was very sensitive to Hannah's emotional needs at the time. " Babe, see calm down. Why are you wasting your tears? See the hot Suya I made for you, yet you are refusing to eat. Your heart is as heavy as a bag of Dangote cement and probably heavier. The Love I have for you should be enough now? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" I believe Hannah gave him an intense stare because that marked the end of the Q & A session between them. Anyway, it so happened that Hannah managed to eat a little before going to pray to God about her situation.

As Hannah was praying to God, Eli the priest was standing not too afar off. She was praying and weeping bitterly, asking God to take away her shame and bless her with the fruit of the womb. "Remember me oh  Lord," she wailed as she prayed to God. "Take this bitterness away from me! Please give me a son, and I will give him back to you to serve you all the days of his life. No razor will ever be used on his head!" The child would definitely have dreadlocks aka Dada. As Hannah prayed fervently, her lips began to move but her voice was not being heard. At that point Eli the priest concluded that she was drunk. Later you people will say only women jump into conclusion!

This is by the way...Moving on!

Eli after jumping into the ocean of conclusion decided to talk to Hannah about her state of 'drunkenness'. "How long are you going to stay drunk? E don do. Put your ogogoro away." Hannah quickly cleared his doubt as she saved him from drowning in the ocean of conclusion. "Oh no Sir. Far from it oh. I am not drunk. In fact, I have not had any wine or beer. I am a woman who is deeply troubled and I was just pouring out my heart to God. Please, I am not a child of the world sir. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

Eli, recovering from his few moments in the 'ocean', said to Hannah "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him". Maybe what he truly wanted to say was "thank you so much my daughter for saving me from drowning in the ocean of conclusion. You are truly my personal super hero". This is actually a lesson for all of us. Hannah replied and said "may your servant find favor in your eyes." So, she went away, had something to eat and then her heart was no longer as heavy as a bag of Dangote cement. 

Early the next morning, Elkanah and his entire family rose, worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home in Ramah. As soon as they got home, Elkanah could not resist the urge to sow a seed in the life of his wife Hannah. As the seed was sown, God remembered Hannah and it began to germinate. For those finding it hard to decode what I'm trying to say, Hannah got pregnant after meeting with her husband Elkannah. (Let's keep it clean for the sake of my little underage fans shall we? 😂 ) Hannah had a son for Elkanah and she named him Samuel which means 'because I asked the Lord for him.' In the turn of a new year, as Elkanah was preparing to bundle his family to Shiloh again,as was the family tradition, Hannah didn't go with him. She said "after the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always". Hannah remembered the promise she made to God and she was planning to keep it.

Let's digress a little bit. For those of us who attended ABU Zaria, we know where this place is. Dreams are fulfilled or shattered in this same building. You see, this paragraph is about me. I wasn't really a church goer in the University. I can count the number of times I went to the ECWA Good news church in Samaru. All the times I managed to go to church was when I was informed that results of a previous examination would be released within the week. I would go to church, pray and make promises to God about becoming a regular church goer if and only if I had a 2.1 with no carry over. I also promised to stand in church to testify about His goodness upon my life. Just because I didn't want my dreams to be shattered in the Senate Building. Every time, God answered me. No carry over, healthy 2.1 even smelling first class at some point, but as quick as the promises were made, they were broken even faster. Till I graduated, I didn't change. Don't be like me. I love being in God's presence now. It is always  a refreshing moment and I am learning not to make promises I cant keep.

As soon as Hannah weaned Samuel, she kept her promise to God and took him back to Eli  the priest where he would live and serve God till his dying day. What a sacrifice! Remember Eli had two irresponsible sons. How sure was Hannah that Samuel wouldn't turn out the same? Once the hand of God is upon a person, nothing or no one can derail such a person from fulfilling purpose. That was Samuel. When Hannah took him before Eli the Priest, she said "pardon me my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord". Simply put, "I was the woman who saved you from drowning in the ocean of conclusion not too long ago". (Me and my thoughts). Hannah continued, "I prayed for this child and the Lord granted me what I asked of Him. So now, I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord."

Elkanah and his family went back to Ramah, but the boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli the Priest.

#The End

Food for Thought:

-How often to you stay in the place of prayer? Do you only remember God when you need something? Don't be like the old me.

-How supportive are you to family and friends when they go through trying times? Do you try to make them think less about their issues by comforting them just like Elkanah?

-How about jumping into conclusions? Do you judge others based on what you see without knowing the facts about the situation at hand? Don't always jump into the ocean of conclusion like Eli.

-Do you mock people who don't have what you have just as Penninah mocked Hannah?

-Have you made a promise to God that you are yet to keep? How "big" is that promise? Is it as big as Hannah's?  She kept her promise of giving her child away to serve God. You can keep yours too.


Disclaimer: All photographs used in this article DO NOT belong to the writer. All culled from google images.

Bible Reference: 1 Samuel Chapter 1.