Honest Prayer

**note: I'm trying a new format to my notes for preaching. I'm moving away from a manuscript and toward a conversational style of preaching. These notes reflect the sermon I gave concerning 1 Samuel 1:4-20.

Honest Prayer

1 Samuel 1:4-20

- What does it mean to be honest?

o Upright, fair, sincere, frank, truthful (dictionary.com)

- In this passage we see Hannah come to God with an honest prayer.

o She’s upset

o Saddened

o Bitter

- Why?

o She’s barren - what does this mean?

§ No children

§ Outcast – Peninnah

- Hannah goes before God – downcast , bitter, stubborn. This is not our image of prayer.

- Our image of prayer – is not the Biblical image.

o Our image is that we should come to God happy, and pleased

o Our image is that we have to be perfect when we come to God.

§ We must do the right things before we come to God in prayer.

- Our image is not the Biblical image:

o Biblical image is that you can come to God no matter what – speaking openly and honestly with God.

o Israelites: Exodus 2:23-25

§ After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. ²⁴God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

o Paul 2 Corinthians 12: 7-8

§ Therefore, to keep^* me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.^{* 8}Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,

o Ultimate example: Jesus praying in the garden Luke 22:42, 44

§ ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ In his anguish he prayed more earnestly…

- My story of honest prayer when Grandma died.

o Angry à Peace

o Knowing that God cared and would answer my prayer

- Biblical image of prayer is one of pure honesty and also arrogance.

o Asking God in prayer and knowing it will be answered in God's time and in God's way.

· Story: Town in drought praying for rain – little boy shows up with an umbrella

o Boy was confident that rain would happen – he knew that the prayers would be answered.

o This is faith!

o This type of faith is what we need to have in our prayers.

- Hannah’s prayer is arrogant.

o Her prayer exemplifies the faith and insistence that God could do something and that God would do something.

- Hannah also knew would happen because of her prayer.

o She was asking for a gift of grace from God.

o God gives us this grace – and in return we are to give a gift back.

§ Hannah promised her son in service to the Lord

§ The gift from God becomes a gift returned to God v.11

· ¹¹She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but if you will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite^* until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants,^* and no razor shall touch his head.’

o Hannah’s prayer was answered and resulted in new life.

§ Our prayers are the same - they result in new life. When we are bold enough to pray to God knowing that things can change – things do change.

§ When Hannah’s prayer was answered she returned that gift to God.

§ When we ask for something – and it is answered we must return the gift.

· When we ask God to love us – God asks us to take that gift and love others in return.

- Be honest in your prayers. Expect God to do something! And know that your prayers will be answered.