In Your Despair and Pain, Stay Connected

Take a moment to read 1 Samuel 1:10-1:17.

Key points:

Ok let’s be real… sometimes it feels like our prayers hit the ceiling or the walls and fall back down at our feet, and we start to wonder what size a mustard seed really is…

In these moments, how easy is it to feel hopeless and despondent?

Hannah does provide us with an example of getting real with God and walking out faith even when you don’t feel like it.

Thankfully, though situations may be different, the human condition hasn’t changed much in two thousand years… and our girl Hannah felt the same weight of unanswered prayers: ‘Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried – inconsolably’ (The Message, v10).

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to finding hope when you’re ‘praying out of great anguish and sorrow’ (v16) but Hannah does provide us with an example of getting real with God and walking out faith even when you don’t feel like it.

In your despair and pain, stay connected.

Hannah keeps praying (vv10–11) – she is real and raw with God. He knows anyway… so just get it all off your chest.

Hannah remains faithful – she stays and keeps worshipping. In your despair and pain, stay connected.

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Devotion written by Natalie Bennett (originally published as ‘Getting Real with God’ on 13 September 2023).

Feature image: CanvaPro