Year in, year out Hannah religiously attended Shiloh but she was no better for it yet. And yes, like most Christians, she’d prayed relentlessly and she’d cried helplessly. Nonetheless, endlessly, she’d presented sacrifice and offerings at the altar only for her womb to remain shut down.
Hannah needed a son but God needed a faithful priest to replace priest Eli. And so, Hannah was inspired to seal a deal with God with her vow as she continued in prayers. Her continuous prayers revealed her readiness. Oh she prayed long after the order of service had ended in the temple so much so that Eli agreed with her in her desperate petition to God.
Alas, her sadness and bitterness of soul brought stagnancy, not pregnancy. Isaiah 54:1 states, “Sing, O barren, thou that did not bear…” In other words, the solution to barrenness is heartfelt singing and unfeigned dancing with pure joy and gladness before the Lord. In context, it’s an enduring encounter with the Lord that gives rise to gladness as demonstrated in John 20:20.
Almost instantaneously, Hannah’s countenance was no more sad (1 Sam 1:18). This simply means she ceased to be sad, but declared to be glad. This time around, she was sure something had delightfully tipped off in her. As a matter of fact, the Bible records in 1 Samuel 1:19, “And they rose up early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord.” Her joy and gladness boiled over.
She continued worship at early hours, alongside her husband, because she couldn’t stop rejoicing. In due course, it became clear that her LAST true worship unlocked her barren womb and activated the season of her fruitfulness. Perhaps Hannah had long neglected worship as a result of her unsavoury condition, and her adversary, Peninnah, mocked her sore.
There were seven (7) notable women known to be barren throughout the Bible – namely Sarai, Rebecca, Rachel, Manoah’s wife, Hannah, Michal and Elizabeth. All these precious, gorgeous, virtuous women, except one, became joyful mothers of promising children by God’s providence. Strangely, Michal was a beautiful princess with no beautiful heart. But why was she left out?
Michal was the daughter of King Saul and was later married to King David. Her heart was sad and bad and resistant to praise and dance. Clearly, her heart was sold to another god. A heart full of praise and dancing was a key factor to David’s promotion and ascent. While King David brought the Ark of the Covenant with pomp and praise in 1 Chronicles 15:28-29, Michal looked through the window and despised King David in her heart.
Regretfully, Michal died with her state of heart and in her state of barrenness. Does this mean there is a connection between the state of the heart and the state of the womb? Essentially, genuine worship activates God’s promise as it empowers us to be victorious. Worship is the secret code to inviting God’s presence into our lives so he can unlock wombs for fruition, open doors for promotion, heal bodies from fleshly degeneration and fix broken destinies from destruction.
– Demola Adeniran
