I was reading the blog of a college friend yesterday who posed this question....is it okay to BEG God for answered prayers?  Hers is a heart in anguish as she watches her otherwise healthy son suddenly battle cancer.  Today, I submit to you that begging to God in fervent, heart wrenching prayer is not only okay, but we see Biblical examples of it.  If you are in a season of so desperately wanting something to happen in your life that you feel you are begging God, then I pray you'll be encouraged here today.

Yesterday, I talked about Ruth, and today, I dive in to look at Hannah.  I have read and re-read the story of Hannah, and the passage I'll camp on tomorrow holds special significance for me personally.   You see, I began my married life working as an adoptive parent caseworker.  Everyday, I counseled and talked with couples dealing with infertility.  It cast an emotional cloud on my desire to be a mom.  The norm in my career was that this would not come easily.  We were delighted when we became pregnant rather quickly after deciding it was time.  And, then 8 weeks in, I endured a painful miscarriage, not in the least bit assisted by a callous doctor who refused to even to answer my calls.  I was at first buoyed at least by the fact that I'd gotten pregnant easily and quickly.

But, then months and months and months passed.  And, the dread grew in the  pit of the stomach that God had allowed me to work in adoption because I was infertile.  I was okay with adopting--but the emotional roller coaster process of it all overwhelmed me.  One morning, I sat in church waiting for the sermon, and fell into 1 Samuel 1.  There, I read the all too familiar story of Hannah.  But, as if a heavenly glow surrounded the verse--something stood out to me as never before, and it became my lifeline.  More on that tomorrow, in part two of this blog post.  So keep that tucked in the back of your heads.

In 1 Samuel 1, we see that Hannah is desperate.  She is tormented by her inability to bear children--quite the reason for her existence as a married woman in her culture.  Her emotional trauma was compounded by her husband's other wife--ever vindictive, it would seem, taunting Hannah regularly about her own ability to have kids and Hannah's failures to do so.  So, Hannah does as most of us would.  

She begs God.  She goes to the temple, and weeps and prays and begs and pleads.  Her anguish is obvious--in fact, Eli the priest thinks she has been drinking because she is so demonstrative in her angst.  Once she assures Eli that she is begging God for her needs, he says may God grant you what you asked of him.  And, here is Hannah's response: