The prophet Samuel is one of those "change agents" that God uses, in this stage of the long story between exodus and exile, to initiate the monarchy that would lead to the great king, David. In the two books that bear Samuel’s name, we learn more about the prophet as we read the entire story, but not in this passage, where we hear that Samuel’s birth, indeed his conception, are both remarkable because of a woman, his mother Hannah. After hearing the story of Ruth and Naomi, we now seek – and once again find – God at work on the margins of society, where the women of the Bible lived. Like Sarah before her and Elizabeth much later, Hannah is "barren," putting her, in a patriarchal society, even more at the mercy of a man.
However, like Rachel before her, Hannah is also the better-loved wife. She has husband’s Elkanah’s love in spite of her inability to produce a child, a woman’s primary function and means to honor. We eavesdrop as Hannah, without the aid of priest or liturgy, prays the prayer of her heart, pouring out her need and her pain, and making a promise to God that she would later keep when she turns her son over to the house of the Lord.
The fulfillment and future that Hannah experiences is also the fulfillment and future of Israel itself, and of the people of faith who walk in their footsteps. What if reading the story of Hannah had an impact on our prayer life, individually and communally, right now? What if we examined our spiritual practice each day, and the worship we share in our congregations, and searched for the places where our prayer springs from our deepest need and a deep trust that God hears our prayers and will respond?