Tuesday 14th January 2020. Read 1 Samuel 1:9-20,
Psalm in 1st Samuel 2:1-7 & Mark 1:21-28.
_“And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among
themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching! With authority, he commands
even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” *(Mark 1:27)*_
Today we
continue the story of Hannah, the first wife of Elkanah. Year after year,
Hannah would cry her heart out because of the constant provocation she received
from her rival Peninnah. One day, she decided her tears weren’t working and she
needed to do something more. She decided to carry her burdens to God in prayer.
The prayer of Hannah wasn’t just any type of prayer, it is one that contains a lot of lessons for us.
First,
Hannah’s prayer was a covenant agreement with God. As we read: “She vowed a vow
and said, ‘O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy
maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to
thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his
life and no razor shall touch his head.’” (1 Samuel 1:11).
Hannah was
willing to give something to God in exchange for what she was asking for. Her
prayer was her vow. By making a vow to God, Hannah entered into a covenant with
God. This is a very important lesson for us. When we pray, we should not simply
concern ourselves with what we are to gain from God, we should also be willing
to give back something to God. Even in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus clearly told us
that we should not expect forgiveness of our sins when we refuse to forgive
others.
On the
other hand, a lot of us make vows to God only for us to turn around and fail to
do our part. On the day of my ordination, for instance, I made vows to God to
receive the anointing of the sacred office. The question today is: “Am I still
faithful to these vows?” When you were in trouble, you prayed and promised God
certain things you would do if he granted your prayers, do you even remember
what you promised God? How faithful have you been?
Secondly,
Hannah’s prayer was not loud. We read: “Hannah was speaking in her heart; only
her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; therefore, Eli took her to be a
drunken woman.” (1 Samuel 1:13). This teaches us that shouting at the top of
our voices is not a necessary pre-condition of getting God’s attention. There
is absolutely nothing wrong with praying aloud but God hears us even when others
cannot hear our voices.
Some of us
use prayer to insult our neighbours, we pray so that others will hear us. We
even say things like, “anyone who is not happy with this prayer right now, I command
fire to burn him/her now. Holy Ghost. Fireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!” Jesus told us:
“When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and
pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men.
Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go
into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:5-6).
Thirdly,
Hannah did not doubt that God would answer her prayer. When Eli the priest saw
Hannah, he taught she was drunk but Hannah explained herself. Eli simply
assured her that God will surely answer her. Eli was not speaking in his person
but on God’s behalf given his office as a Priest. Eli exercised the authority
we see Jesus exercise in today’s Gospel passage. Hannah believed Eli. We read: “Then
the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad.” (1
Samuel 1:18)
How often
do we look down our priests and forget that the office they hold is greater
than them? How many of us stop crying after we have prayed to God about something?
Why do we doubt God? Why do we allow fear reign in our hearts? Simply put, we
look down on God.
It is very
sad to say that today’s Christians are more afraid of the devil and evil
spirits than they are of God. We don’t fear God but we fear the devil. Even our
preachers do not help matters by ascribing every single situation to the devil.
Today’s Christians are always under attack, they never seem to be delivered because
the devil they fight is not out there but right inside their heads.
In today’s
Gospel passage, Jesus was in the temple teaching but his presence alone became
a threat to a demon-possessed man. Jesus only needed to utter a single sentence
and the demon came out. Jesus not only taught with authority, but he also
commanded the devil with authority. Authority is the fruit of identity. The kind of
authority you exercise is a direct effect of the kind of identity you possess.
It is not
about how strong the devil is, the real question is: “Who are you?” In other
words: What kind of Christian are you? Are you a threat to the devil or just an
ally, a willing toy? That a man with a demon could enter the Synagogue should open
our eyes to the fact that it is not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” in the church
that is okay. Some of us are just satanic agents, demons in disguise, set to
destroy souls.
The only shield
we have as Christians is Prayer. Jesus commanded demons not just because He is
God, He was a man of prayer. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, deepen my faith and increase my confidence in you. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have
Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 1st Week in Ordinary
Time. Bible Study: 1 Samuel 1:9-20,
Psalm in 1st Samuel 2:1-7 & Mark 1:21-28).
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