I Samuel 1-2

"Nor is there any rock like our God" (2:2). The great book of Samuel opens with an intimate story. Hannah desperately wants a baby. For years, her husband's other, fertile wife mocks her, and finally Hannah calls out to God. Not in a routine way, but specifically, passionately, Hannah says, "I have poured out my soul" (v15). God answers her prayer. Hannah's joyful song of thanksgiving (like Mary's) reaches beyond her own answered prayer.

When God hears our prayer, we see life and the world differently. We pray with new faith. "For not by might shall a man prevail" (v9).