Bible Truths: “Hannah – A Godly Mother”

“And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord…”  I Samuel 2:1

The Old Testament shows us many examples (I Cor 10:6,11) of people’s lives; many examples of successes and failures.  In the Book of First Samuel, we see an example of a godly mother: Hannah.  I encourage you to read the first two chapters of First Samuel in order to get acquainted, or reacquainted with Hannah’s story.  We can see some traits of a godly mother as we study this remarkable woman.

The first thing we see about Hannah was that she had a loving relationship with her husband, Elkanah.  Elkanah, the Bible says, “loved Hannah” (I Sam 1:5) and did his best to comfort her when she wept over her barren state.  He said to her, “Am not I better to thee than ten sons?” (I Sam 1:8).  A big part of being a good mother, or father, is having a loving relationship with our spouses.  Our children learn more from us by how they see us act toward each other than by how we tell them they should act.  We must work on our marriage relationship in order to be the best parents we can be.

Next, we see that Hannah loved the Lord.  She “prayed unto the Lord and wept sore” (I Sam 1:10).  She did what we all are encouraged to do, which is to “cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (I Pet 5:7).  She asked for a child from God, and when she had petitioned Him, she trusted Him with the results.  We see that after she was done praying, she “went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad” (I Sam 1:18).

Finally, we see that Hannah loved her son, Samuel.  When it was time to go up to Shiloh for the yearly sacrifice (I Sam 1:21), Hannah instead stayed back home, for her child’s sake.  Later, when Samuel was living at the temple, Hannah continued to provide clothing for him year after year (I Sam 2:19).

I believe that studying Hannah’s life shows us how she handled her three most important relationships as a godly mother, her relationship with God, her husband, and her children.  A godly woman, and a man as well, must put the Lord above everything else in her life.  As Proverbs 31:30 says, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”  A godly woman will also show her husband love and respect.  Her husband should be able to trust in her just as Elkanah was able to trust Hannah.  Proverbs 31:10,11 tell us, “Who can find a virtuous woman?  For her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her…”  Finally, a godly woman will love her children with a gentle love that only a mother can provide (I Thess 2:7).

Pastor Lee Smith