Prayers of Thanksgiving
The next type of prayer that needs to be discussed is a prayer of thanksgiving. Often times, this prayer gets lumped in with prayers of adoration and it is true that they have similarities. However, a prayer of adoration is designed to express our faith and reverence for God, while a prayer of thanksgiving is designed to praise Him for something that He has done. There are many examples of prayers of thanksgiving, look at Exodus 15 to see Moses’ thanksgiving for deliverance from pharaoh’s army. However, my favorite prayer of thanksgiving is actually found in 1 Samuel 2,
“2 Then Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2 There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You,Nor is there any rock like our God. 3 Do not go on boasting so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces, But those who have stumbled strap on strength. 5 Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to be hungry. Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven,But she who has many children languishes. 6 The Lord puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up. 7 The Lord makes poor and rich; He humbles, He also exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them. 9 He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail. 10 Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.””
1 Samuel 2:1-10
From the very beginning we can see the attitude that Hannah has when approaching God. We can clearly see the helplessness in her prayer. This prayer is said when she is dedicating her only child, the one she had prayed she would one day have, to the service of God. Instead of being upset, Hannah keeps her prayer focused on God. She not only keeps her focus on Him, but rejoices and speaks boldly. She is reminding us that when we have nothing else to be thankful of, rejoice in the Lord. This is echoed with Paul when he is imprisoned, “4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4. To have nothing, or more specifically to have nothing as the world deems it, but to still be able to rejoice in the Lord is a marker of a faithful follower of Christ. In Hannah’s time, for a woman not to have a child was something to be seen as a failure as we see with Peninnah’s response to Hannah, “6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her” 1 Samuel 1:6. In the eyes of the world, Hannah was giving up the one thing that gave her honor, her child.
This is so important for us today, we often measure our success or failure by the world’s standards. Because of this, we fail to keep our focus on God and lose our connection with Him. It is why prayers of thanksgiving are so important. They remind us of what God has done and we see His power. We then begin to measure our situation based on the power of God and not the limitations of this world. Hannah was so easily able to bless God in her helplessness by keeping her focus on the only thing that mattered, God and His promise of salvation.
Hannah continues her prayer with an attitude of awe. She states the simple fact that there is no one like God. She boldly speaks about His knowledge, strength, and capability to provide for those who call upon Him. We can easily see the respectful attitude that she has but also see the strength that she has in this prayer. I am often reminded of the verse in Titus, “15 These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.” Titus 2:15. When we speak of our God, we speak with all authority because we have been given a spirit of strength. “7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Finally, we see an attitude of faithfulness in her prayer. In verses 8-10, we see her continually bless the Lord and recognize that all things are at His disposal. Through her prayer, Hannah is able to show her faithfulness in God’s promises. After all, He had already shown that He was faithful by opening the womb that He had closed and giving her a child.
Hannah’s prayer is a great example of a prayer of thankfulness. We see that she opens with an attitude of helplessness, continues with an attitude of awe, and closes with an attitude of faithfulness. Prayers of thankfulness are important today because they remind us of what God has done.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex