What is the secret in having and rearing godly children? We find the answer in the attitude and actions of Hannah, the model mother of all time, even a pattern for the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46-55). The principles which guided Hannah are seven in number:
- The Principle of Proper Priority. Hannah’s foremost desire and purpose was to have a child – not money, not clothes, not social prestige – but simply to become a mother above anything in life. Such is the noblest aspiration of any woman who is given the instinct for motherhood by God Himself.
- The Principle of Prayer. Though Hannah was barren, she knew God could intervene and enable her to conceive but only if she prayed, and she did not pray just once but continued in prayer and was in “deep anguish and crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.” (1 Sam. 1:10). A praying mother is a powerful mother, and blessed is anyone who has a praying mother. Examples: Augustine was an immoral and heretical soul until his mother Monica prayed him into the Kingdom of God, and he became the most influential Christian thinker in the Christian church for a thousand years. Abraham Lincoln said, “All I am and all I have I owe to my angel mother.” No one molded my life and set my future and gave me a great vision like my precious mother. All I am or ever expect to be, humanly speaking, I owe to my mama.
- The Principle of Patience. Hannah, though very anxious to bear a child, persisted in prayer and preparation and never gave up until the Lord honored her not just with a baby, but with one of the truly great prophets of all time, Samuel. The word Samuel means “Asked of God” a very special name indeed in the Old Testament but also in the Bennett family: My father’s father was Samuel Peter, my father’s name was Samuel Luther, and my brother was named Samuel and his son bears the same name.
- The Principle of Purpose. Hannah undoubtedly desired a child for personal satisfaction, but her primary purpose was to have a child who would grow up to glorify the Lord. In fact, Hannah knew the child would be hers for only a short time. Thus, “she made this vow: O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he’ll be yours for his entire life time and his hair shall never be cut.” (1 Sam. 1:11 TLB). Hannah kept this promise and turned her son over to the Lord immediately after he was weaned (1 Samuel 1:22). Such should be the promise of every mother. This was definitely the attitude of my dear wife of 58 years. Her foremost desire was to relinquish her sons into the hands of the Lord, even praying they would go to the mission field, also her grandchildren. I doubt that God would refuse giving a child to any mother whose ultimate desire was to give Him into the Lord’s service. My mother sanctified me in her womb unto the Lord, even as Jeremiah was set apart. (Jeremiah 1:5). Nothing has humbled and encouraged me more.
- The Principle of God’s Plan (or will). Hannah desired a baby very much, but she surrendered to God’s will and would have trusted and served Him even if God had not granted her a son, knowing God knew better than she. After having three sons, Doris and I desired a girl and sister for the boys. It appeared that God had answered our prayers when Doris became pregnant until we named our unborn “Doris.” But alas Doris miscarried but has now been joined to her daughter Doris in heaven.
- The Principle of Praise. Next to Jesus Himself, Hannah prayed the greatest prayer in the Bible in praise to God for the gift of her son. Her prayer is recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. So magnificent is her prayer that the Virgin Mary, after learning she would bear Jesus, prayed a very similar prayer, recorded in Luke 1:46-55, called the “Magnifica,” meaning “Magnificent,” which indeed it is.
- The Principle of Persuasion A mother’s life and teaching are the most powerful persuasions in a child’s life, especially in his or her early years. A father impacts his children, but not so much as his mother. The way the mother lives is the way her child is molded. Samuel was one of Israel’s greatest prophets because he had one of the world’s greatest mothers. Ex: My sons grew up and heard me preach hundreds of sermons on every subject in the Bible. Did my preaching impact my sons? Perhaps some, but if so my sons never told me so. But my oldest son, Bill, Jr., now a successful eye surgeon and father of five wonderful children, said to me, “Daddy, I saw so many hypocrites in the church, pious as a priest on Sunday and mean as the devil on Monday, and was taught much at Baylor contrary to the Bible, that I would be an angry opponent and even an infidel if it had not been for the way you and mother lived your lives. When I saw your faithfulness and love for Jesus and cantankerous church members and one another I knew Christianity was the real thing.”
Will the Principles of Hannah work today? Absolutely. If you are seeking to have your first child, as was Hannah, I urge you to apply these principles. And remember that God is never in a hurry but is never late. There are a few cases where it is not God’s will for couples to have children, but in 98% of the time it is God’s will. But when it is His will, He will give the child when the mother and father are ready. Doris and I were married in 1952 and our first child was not born until 1955. During these three years, Doris was overly anxious for a child, but having grown up in a family of 7 children I was not anxious and would say, “Honey, don’t worry, in God’s timing you will bear a child. Just hope we are ready.” And believe it or not, and to our surprise, (especially Doris) we were not totally ready and had to adjust to realities we never dreamed of before the baby came.