A few weeks ago I spoke at a ladies retreat and I taught on 1 Samuel 1 and Hannah's relationship with the Lord. Hannah is one of my favorite people to look at in the Word because I feel like I can relate to things that she went through (the Lord took Sonny and I through 5 miscarriages before giving us our first son here). While I was preparing for this lesson, the Lord showed me something small and sweet that I had never really focused on before. Hannah asked for a son. She didn't just ask for a child; she asked for a son. She loved the Lord with such an intimacy that she even requested a certain gender from Him. I'm not exactly sure why this stood out to me so much but mainly Jesus used it to remind me that He cares about both the small and big things in our lives. Could the Lord have kept Hannah barren for longer and still been just as gracious and loving? Yes. Could He have given her a daughter though she had asked for a son? Absolutely. But how wonderful must it have been for Hannah to spend years praying a certain request to her sweet Savior only to have Him bless her with Samuel? Her story led her to write her song of praise to the Lord in 1 Samuel 2. Whether the Lord answers in a way that we would like or not, He has a plan that is best for our good and His glory. He wants us to come to Him with our requests and then trust Him to be our perfect Father who knows what is best. So often I feel that I can neglect to come to Jesus when I think things are too small for Him to be concerned with but this simply isn't the case. He cares. Let us come to Him!
I had already been seeing this come to fruition in my own life but it was so neat to see that Hannah felt the same way. This truth cannot be overstated: The Lord cares. He wants to be involved. Jesus died so that we could be in a relationship with us and in that relationship, He desires that we share our whole hearts with Him- not just the things that we think are important enough for Him to care about.
Recently I was about to shoot my first newborn twin session (I own my own photography business). I know that newborn shoots can be very difficult when the babies are fussy and moms are nervous. Knowing this, I prayed, "Jesus, please let the babies be extra sleepy." I knew that Jesus didn't "owe" me this but I asked, knowing that He wants my heart and all that goes with it. I pray for every shoot- for the Lord's creativity to shine through my work and for the photos to be exactly what my clients are wanting- and thus I prayed for this as well. The Lord was so kind. The session lasted for about 3 1/2 hours (typical newborn session) and the babies slept for all but about 10 minutes of the session! I was so amazed! My faith was so encouraged. Jesus heard and He helped. The session was so much fun and I loved working with the twins.
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All of this to say, let us remember that Jesus is personal. He wants us to come to Him. With Hannah, she requested a son from the Lord and He answered her. He didn't answer in her timing (she submitted her request for years before the Lord answered her) but He did hear and He did answer when the time was right for Him to do so. I pray that we will never stop sharing our whole hearts with the God who left heaven to come and die in our place that we might have a sweet and intimate relationship with Him.
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