God Wants Me to Persevere
So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the LORD." (1 Sam. 1:23).
Hannah reflected gratitude in two ways. First, she and her husband worshiped the Lord together (1:19). Their early morning worship was in response to Hannah’s assurance that her prayer for a son had been heard. Among worthy motives for personal and collective worship is our debt of gratitude to God for His man benefits. Failure to worship God regularly may be traced in part to a failure to recognize God as the Source from whom every blessing comes. Gratitude begets worship. To cultivate a grateful heart is to prepare for meaningful worship.
Second, Hannah named her son to reflect her gratitude for answered prayer. Samuel sounds like the Hebrew term for “heard of God.” Her son’s name became for Hannah a perpetual reminder of her debt of gratitude owed the Lord for answering her prayer.
Lord, sensitize me today to the many evidences of Your faithfulness.
