April 17, 2026

Crying out to the Lord: Jabez and Hannah

14 minutes

Bruce Hempel introduces the topic of prayer and prophecy, beginning with two short Old Testament stories about individuals who cried out to the Lord. He encourages the audience to pour out their hearts to God, expect His answer, and trust that He is good and generous.

The Story of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

[00:01:40] Jabez is described as “more honorable than his brothers,” but his background was painful—his mother named him “Jabez” because she bore him in pain.

[00:02:27] Jabez prayed: “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, so that you would keep me from harm.”

[00:03:50] A better translation of his prayer is, “Keep me from causing pain,” reflecting a desire not to hurt others despite his own painful background.

[00:04:05] Bruce notes that many people have painful backgrounds, and the saying “Hurt people hurt people” applies, but Jabez wanted to break that cycle.

[00:04:32] The greatest blessings are not material but include family, fellowship, and being a blessing to others; “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

[00:06:18] Jabez prayed earnestly (“Oh”), and God answered by enlarging his border and keeping him from causing harm.

The Story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1)

[00:07:09] Hannah was in a difficult marriage with a rival wife who provoked her because Hannah had no children.

[00:07:42] Her husband Elkanah tried to comfort her, but her deepest desire was to become a mother.

[00:08:23] Hannah was deeply distressed and “prayed to the Lord, and she wept bitterly,” pouring out her soul to Him.

[00:08:36] She vowed that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord as a Nazirite.

[00:09:05] Eli the priest initially mistook her silent prayer for drunkenness, but she explained she was pouring out her trouble to the Lord.

[00:09:44] Bruce encourages that if your heart is troubled, pour it out to the Lord; He will look on it with compassion.

[00:10:13] He references Psalm 51 and Psalm 34:18 about God not despising a broken heart and being close to the brokenhearted.

[00:11:13] After Eli blessed her, Hannah stopped fasting and was no longer sad, showing she received the word and trusted God would take care of it.

[00:12:23] Hannah conceived and bore Samuel, whose name means “asked of the Lord.”

[00:12:42] Jesus encourages us to ask, seek, and knock; God wants to take away our unbelief.

[00:13:08] Hannah gave Samuel to the Lord, and God blessed her with five more children, showing God is generous.

[00:14:09] Solomon also received more than he asked for when he sought wisdom, and God is good and loves you.

Scripture References

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

1 Samuel 1

1 Samuel 2

Psalm 34:18

Psalm 51

Generated by AI model deepseek-chat

The post Crying out to the Lord: Jabez and Hannah first appeared on Canaan Fellowship.

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