Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-09

| mOCher. proverbs, 1.S.
Hannah, the cody mother of Samuel,
ranks high among the mothers of his
tory. She was woman of piety, prayer
and purity, yet her position among the
women of her day and generation filled
her heart with great sorrow. 1t Is
quite difficult for us to realize the fact
that her longing for the joys of mother
hood was something more than the in
herent desire Of human nature. There
Is more to 1t than that. for in those
days woman's home and social stand
ing depended upon her being a mother.
If the years passed and the woman had
no little one to nurse, or even If she
had daughters but no son, her situation
in the home and social circle became
almost uncomfortable
Although Elkanah, her husband, was
devoted to her and loved her, the fact
that he had taken another wife, whose
sharp tongue stung Hannah with the
sting of viper. added to her sorrow.
In the eyes of the community, especial
ly of the women, Hannah knew that
they considered that she had failed in
doing her duty. One year, when the
family had made their annual pilgrim
age to Shiloh, the divinely appointed
place of worship in those days, to
OUSeINS ITe F6dSG Oh 1dDSTHdCleS.
Hannah was filled with sorrow During
the journey of about 10 miles from her
home, Hannahs heart was heavy with
her disappointment and affection. She
took advantage of her opportunity to
present her desire for a son to Jehovah.
While she prayed, Eli, the aged priest
observed that she did not cry out al
though her lips moved. He misjudged
her actions and charged her with being
drunk. This added to her sorrow, but
when Eli knew the purpose of her
prayer, he gave her his blessing. This
gave her confidence that her prayer
would be answered. She left Shiloh
expecting that Jehovah would fill her
heart with Joy and give her son, whom
she promised to dedicate to His service
and rear him as Nazarite.
Prayer Answered.
When her prayer was answered,
Hannah had double joy, because her
sorrow was over and God had answered
her prayer. She called the young baby
Samuel, so that whenever she spoke of
him, the godly woman recalled that he
had been asked of the Lord" for such
is the meaning of his name. Probably
no factor played more important part
in molding the character of her son,
than his mothers prayers. 1t is true
in our day. as it has been throughout
history, that the agonizing prenatal
prayers of mothers have played a promi-
nent part in determining the personality
and work that men have performed in
the development of the Kingdom of
God.
During his student days at Colgate
number of students met in the writer's
room after we had faced one of the
most important questions of our lives.
~ a nf h. aTtk NI he ~
talks that night one of the students
referred to the fact that his mother had
given him to the work of the ministry
before he was born. Soon every man
present told how his mother had by
prayer pledged his life to the Mas
ter'S service. God hears the cries of
the praying mother for her unborn
child today. When the mother pleads
with the Lord for her child during the
prenatal period, it insures the child a
welcome and training in a Christian
home. There never has been an hour
when the need of parental responsible
ity should be emphasized more than
the present. Parents should recognize
their scriptural responsibility to pray
during the prenatal period and through
life for the Lords blessing upon their
children. Our neglect to do so is sin
and is largely responsible for the pres
ent attitude of children toward their
parents and the cause of Christ's King
dom.
jeremiah was called and set apart
for his prophetic Office before his birth.
John the Baptist was child of prom
Use, given in answer to prayer in &C
cordance with the annunciation made
by the messenger of God to zachar1as
when he was engaged in Gods service
in the temple. The parents of Hudson
Taylor, founder of the China Inland
Mission, believed that they should fol-
low the Old Testament requirements
and dedicated their flrst-born child,
James, to the Lord. The tremendous
influence of MethodiSm can be traced
to the prayers of the mother OF John
Wesley, who set her young child aside
for Gods work and promised that she
would see that he received religious
training. The mother of Augustine, the
eminent theologian of the Roman Cath
ole Church, gave him to the Lord and
followed him with her prayers through
out 80 years of his life, much of which
Augustine spent in absolute manner
of living. God heard his mothers
prayers. Many Of us recognize that we
owe to the prayers of sainted mother
our personality and powers.
Fulfilling Her Vow.
Hannah did not return to Shiloh for
worship after Samuel was born until
he had been nodded by her life and
teachings for the place he was des-
tined to hold in history. He sprobably
was about years of age when Hannah
brought Samuel to Shiloh and COM
mitted his training as a servant Of Je-
hovah to Eli. the priest, who had seen
her pray and had given her his bless
ing and PRAYERS In fulf1llment OF her
vow. Hannah dedicated Samuel to the
work of the Lord. During the days he
spent In Gods house as a servant and
apprentice Samuel was subject Of his
mothers prayers and labor, for she
made his clothes and annually carried
them up to him in the tabernacle,
where, under the instruction of ELL he
was being trained to become one Of the