Hannah -- Lesson 20

Another truth learned from women in the Old Testament is that God answers prayers and grants us our righteous desires. One Latter-day Saint woman commented, “My patriarchal blessing promises me that the righteous desires of my heart will be granted. For years I have prayed for something that without question is a righteous desire, and it has not been granted. My faith is wavering.”
Similarly, Hannah of the Bible had a righteous desire that she felt was not granted.

Hannah’s Righteous Desire

Elkanah, an upright man of Israel, had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. While Peninnah had children, Hannah had none. The desire of Hannah’s heart was to have a son, yet year after year it did not happen, and she became so grief-stricken that she wept and could not eat. Elkanah, who loved Hannah, said to her, “… why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?” (1 Sam. 1:8.)
Every year Hannah accompanied Elkanah to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to the Lord. One year as she went into the temple, Hannah’s heart and mind were consumed by her longing for a son. In bitterness of soul she prayed unto the Lord and spoke a vow, saying, “O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed … give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. …” (1 Sam. 1:11.)
Eli, the temple priest, told Hannah, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition. …” (1 Sam. 1:17.) Hannah was no longer sad. Soon she did conceive, and in due course her son Samuel was born.
Hannah must have made a special effort to teach Samuel to take care of himself and to love the Lord, because he was still a young child when she left him with Eli at the temple. There he served the Lord diligently and became a prophet in Israel.
Hannah was blessed with three more sons and two daughters. What a beautiful illustration of the abundance of the Lord’s blessings to the faithful! She freely gave one child to the Lord and in return he gave her five more.
The Lord had glorious blessings in store for Hannah, as she was to be the mother of a great prophet. But before Hannah could receive that blessing, her desire for a son had to become so intense that she would be willing to give him up to the Lord. Sometimes we are like Hannah; the Lord has to prepare us before he can grant our righteous desires.

Arta M. Hale, “Lessons in Womanhood: Insights for Latter-day Saint Women from the Lives of Vashti, Miriam, Ruth, Hannah, Jezebel, and Esther,” Ensign, Oct 1973, 70