Praying in the Melk Abbey in Austria

She, [Hannah] greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” 1 Samuel 1:10-11

Have you wept before the Lord, asking for a miracle? Have you made a bargain with God? That’s what Hannah did. Yet, the very thing that she asked for, she offered back to God.

Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD. “For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him.“So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there. 1 Samuel 1:24-28

After Hannah gave Samuel to the Lord, God blessed her with three sons and two daughters.

When I was in junior high (now middle school), I used to bargain with God. “Oh God, make me smart. Give me that A tomorrow on the test, and I’ll live for you.”

I got the A’s, so I read my Bible diligently, thinking that was keeping my end of the bargain.

All my life, I was sickly, in and out of the doctors’ offices. In and out of the hospitals during my late teens.

Then, in 2001, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. It had taken years to diagnose.

That’s when I found myself weeping and pleading before the Lord for healing. In November 2010, I gave the asked for healing back to God on November 21, 2010, when I told Him at a healing service that I no longer cared whether I was healed, I just wanted more of Him.

God healed me that night.

That healing turned my life upside down. God gave me the desires of my heart: healing, but more importantly, more of Him.

Whatever the desire of your heart is, plead, weep, ask persistently and then be williing to give it back for more of Jesus.

My prayer for you

Jesus, You said that whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for Your sake will preserve it. Thank You for including Hannah’s story in Your Word. Teach us the lesson of Hannah, and empower us to turn our lives over to You … completely … with reckless abandon. Thank You for Your gracious blessings. We love You, and we pray in Your name, Your essence, Your character.

What are you asking God for? Are you willing to dedicate it to Him?