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  • She Opened Her Heart to God in Prayer
    Imitate Their Faith
    • 21. How did Hannah’s prayer to Jehovah reflect the depth of her faith? (See also the box “Two Remarkable Prayers.”)

      21 Hannah then uttered a prayer that God deemed worthy of inclusion in his inspired Word. As you read her words, recorded at 1 Samuel 2:1-10, you will find the depth of her faith conveyed in every line. She praised Jehovah for his marvelous use of power​—his unmatched ability to humble the haughty, to bless the oppressed, and to end life or even to save it from death. She praised her Father for his unique holiness, his justice, and his faithfulness. With good reason, Hannah could say: “There is no rock like our God.” Jehovah is completely reliable and unchanging, a refuge for all the oppressed and downtrodden who turn to him for help.

  • She Opened Her Heart to God in Prayer
    Imitate Their Faith
      • Note that Hannah uttered the second prayer, not when her son was born, but when she and Elkanah offered him up for God’s service at Shiloh. So Hannah’s great joy lay, not in silencing her rival, Peninnah, but in being blessed by Jehovah.

      • When Hannah said, “My horn is indeed exalted in Jehovah,” she may have had in mind the ox, a powerful beast of burden that uses its horns mightily. Hannah was, in effect, saying: ‘Jehovah, you make me strong.’​—1 Sam. 2:1.

      • Hannah’s words about God’s “anointed one” are considered prophetic. The expression is the same one rendered “messiah,” and Hannah is the first person in the Bible record to use it to refer to a future anointed king.​—1 Sam. 2:10.

      • Jesus’ mother, Mary, about 1,000 years later, echoed some of Hannah’s expressions in her own words of praise to Jehovah.​—Luke 1:46-55. (See Chapter 17.)

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