This is the heart-warming true story
of an ordinary woman in the Bible
who had a broken heart
and decided to pray about her problem.

6 - First believe, then receive

I Samuel 1
12. Eli noticed (Hannah's) mouth moving as she was praying silently and, hearing no sound, thought she had been drinking.
14. "Must you come here drunk?" he demanded.
"Throw away your bottle."
15. "Oh, no, sir!" she replied, "I'm not drunk!
But I am very sad and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Please don't think that I am just some drunken bum!"
17. "In that case," Eli said, "cheer up! May the Lord of Israel grant you your petition, whatever it is!"
18. "Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed, and went happily back, and began to take her meals again.
LB

Hannah had cried year after year about her problem, but that got her nowhere.

So after some thought, she prayed a daring prayer to God. She promised God that if He would give her a son, she would give that son back to God, so that God would have a servant to do His will in the earth.

Because what she promised God would further God's purpose in the earth, He responded to her immediately through His servant Eli, whose words to Hannah opened the way for her prayer to be answered.

Sometimes we are tempted to just sit and cry for years over whateveris breaking our heart. But when we finally realise that is gettingus nowhere fast, we wake up and change our prayer.

We begin to pray prayers like Hannah's.
We begin to co-operate with God's purpose in the earth, and in return God sends us assurances that our prayer has been answered, like the assurances God sent Hannah through His servant Eli.

Notice her response to Eli's words:
"Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed, and went happily back, and began to take her meals again.

This tells us that as far as Hannah was concerned, her prayer was answered and her son was on the way.

Was she pregnant yet? No, but she knew beyond any doubt that God had already answered. She just needed to go home and prepare herself for the answer.

She understood God's principle which says:
First believe, then receive.

Have you taken God's assurances to heart and believed them the way Hannah did?
Or are you still wondering whether God has heard your prayer?

To develop a successful prayer life, I need to say to myself and God regularly, how good He is to me!

Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank You that You have given me the privilege, not only to believe You with all my heart, but also, to receive all that You have promised me.
I believe and I receive.
Thank You,
Amen.

NEXT >>







Matthew 6
6. But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you.
7. "Don't recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
9. "Pray along these lines: 'Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name.
10. We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
11. Give us our food again today, as usual,
12. and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
13. Don't bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.
Amen.'
14. Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you.
LB


Three Prayer Principles:

Principle 1:     proclaiming WHO God is
Principle 2:    praying about God's business
Principle 3:  praying about our own concerns




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LB stands for
"The Living Bible",
by Tyndale House Publishers
NKJV stands for
"The New King James Bible",
by Thomas Nelson Publishers