In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly

1 Samuel 1:10

It is often said that prayer is a personal conversation with God. That sounds extremely easy. However, every praying person will be the first to confess that it is not an easy undertaking. However, the results are phenomenal.

I call prayer the heart’s language before God. What that means is that prayer is the expression of a person’s heart in a unique way that God understands. That makes two things extremely important.

Since God is holy, the condition of the heart of the person in prayer must be free of sin and any other thing that can pollute the language (1 Tim. 2:8). There must be an atmosphere that is free and conducive for good fellowship with God.

The heart must also be burdened enough to pray. In this case, the concern for the things we pray about is a critical factor for effective praying. Without a deep concern and burden for some specific situation, prayer is just a formality. But God looks for the burdened heart to relieve (Matt. 11:28).  

We see this in many examples of prayer in the Bible. Take Hannah’s prayer for a case study. It teaches us that God answers the prayer of a heart burdened for the right reasons.

She was the beloved wife of Elkanah. His second wife, Peninnah, had children, but Hannah was barren. For many years, Peninnah provoked Hannah to irritate her (1 Sam. 1:4-6). And how long could Hannah take such provocation before breaking, despite the attention and privileges of a loving husband?

So, when Hannah came to God at Shiloh on that special day, she was in extreme bitterness of soul, and she took it to Him in prayer. Hannah knew the love and kindness and favor of God. If there was ever a moment that she needed Jehovah, who is all of these and more, it was that day. She just waited for the feast to be over, then she went on her knees.

Her heart spoke to the Lord in a language old priest Eli took for the babblings of a drunkard (13-14). But it was the expression of an anguished soul in deep communion with her personal God. Eli could sense the intensity and the rapidity of her mouth’s movement, but he heard no sound. And why should he? It was a private conversation between a daughter and her Father. He is unseen and understands the language of the distressed heart of His children, He heard and rewarded her daughter with a Samuel. And why not?

James says that we do not get what we pray for because we ask with selfish motives (Jas. 4:3). Not so with Hannah. She had already dedicated the son she desired to God for His service to His people (1 Sam. 1:11).

That is a recipe for effective praying – a burdened heart, but selfless in every way.