A special personal passage

Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head." – 1 Samuel 1v11

I am using this passage today only because it has such a personal meaning to me. Most of us know the story of Hannah. She could not get pregnant. It was a terribly troubling thought to her. She begged God to give her a son and He did. In her prayer she committed any son God gave to the Lord’s service. It is a beautiful story of devotion and commitment, despite her husband’s very ‘man’ comment during her stress – ‘Why do you want a son? You have me!’

God gave her a son, she gave him back to the Lord, and he went on to serve the Lord.

The reason this passage touches my heart begins way back in the autumn on 1954. My mom and dad were stationed in far off Fairbanks in Alaska. It wasn’t even a state yet. My mom was not married long, but she was a little older and immediately began praying to get pregnant, which she did. While pregnant she read the story of Hannah and prayed that God would give her a son and that if He did she would commit her son back to Him as a preacher. When I was born, they named me after two preachers, the pastor who married them and their pastor in Alaska.

This was all well and good and the years passed on. I grew up and went off to college to join the army. All I thought about for the future was the army and politics. God had other plans. I ended up at a Christian college getting a degree in education. A few years later Mary and I moved back to Huntsville to teach in a Christian school. Full time Christian service, but not the preacher she had hoped and prayed for.

Fast forward a few years to 1991. The school closed and God worked in a marvellous way to direct our hearts to church planting in Ireland. Our church ordained me to the gospel ministry. Then, and only then, about 37 years after Mom prayed her prayer, she told me this story.