Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.
1 Samuel 2:1
What a beautiful prayer from Hannah. She went from being held under the taunting grasp of the Daunter of infertility to receiving the beautiful promise of a child.
Daunters can make us silent because of the pain we feel at their hands. When God answers the deep desires of our hearts it’s easy to open our mouth wide over our enemies and praise Him.
I love how she says her strength was lifted in the Lord. I see such an intimate relationship between her and God. I can’t imagine having to give my boys to the Temple to be trained. She only got a few short years to be with him but she knew that he belonged to the Lord. God honored her faithfulness and she was blessed with 3 more sons and 2 daughters.
“My mouth is no longer silent”. Hannah endured so much pain because of her Daunter. Her Daunter was the lies and jealousy of a rival, her husband’s other wife, who had lots of children. Hannah was barren, it says because the Lord shut up her womb, but her husband loved her best.
Her despair had lead her to such a place that when the High Priest Eli saw her at the temple praying he thought she was drunk. Our despair can lead us to places where people think we are mad or drunk but the reality is our brokenness leaves us in such a deep place of pain that even though our lips move sound cannot come out. I really believe Hannah was experiencing the deep groaning of the Holy Spirit.
These barren places of despair are not necessarily bad places. They are places where something great is birthed in us. Not only did God give Hannah a child to replace her physical barrenness but He also replaced the spiritual barrenness in her soul with such a mighty desire to serve God.
From soundless prayers that made her appear drunk to a mouth that was no longer silent but filled with praise for God and what He had done.
Once a barren place taunted by a lying Daunter but now a testimony of trusting praise to God.
Will you break your silence and sing a hallelujah to God for the victory He has given you in the barren place in your life? Can you do it even if a Daunter still stands there taunting you?