Dig Deeper - Sunday 5th January 2025
Sermon Reflection Questions - Faithful in Prayer
1 Samuel 1:1-20
As we step into this new year, we do so in a world that often feels fragile and uncertain. From political instability to personal struggles and global challenges to local pressures, we are surrounded by signs of brokenness. In times like these, it’s easy to wonder where true leadership can be found or how we can trust God when so much seems out of control.
That’s why we as a ministry team felt that we wanted to study 1 Samuel at the start of this new year, as it speaks so powerfully to us today. Set in a time of chaos and transition, the book tells the story of a nation searching for stability and direction. The people of Israel were desperate for a king, someone who could lead them in the face of threats and uncertainty. Yet time and again, they made the mistake of trusting in outward appearances, human strength, and their own solutions.
But God’s ways are not like ours. As the title of our new series reminds us, "The Lord Looks at the Heart: Trusting in God’s Leadership in a Broken World." God isn’t impressed by power or appearances; He looks deeper. And in 1 Samuel, He reveals that even in the midst of human failure and brokenness, His plans remain steadfast, His leadership is sure, and His heart is always for His people.
In our world today, where leadership can fail and trust is easily shaken, 1 Samuel invites us to see God as the leader we can rely on. It challenges us to look beyond what is visible and trust in His unseen hand, even when life feels uncertain. As we journey through this book, we’ll meet characters like Hannah, whose faith rose out of personal pain, Samuel, whose obedience shaped a nation, Saul, whose outward strength couldn’t sustain him, and David, whose heart—flawed but faithful—pointed to something greater.
This new year series invites us to reflect on the same questions Israel faced:
• Where do we place our trust?
• What kind of leadership do we seek in our lives and our world?
• And how can we align our hearts with the God who leads perfectly, even in the midst of brokenness?
As we open the pages of 1 Samuel, we’ll discover that the God who looks at the heart is still leading His people today, inviting us to trust Him in a world that so desperately needs His hope and grace.
I hope you enjoy these study notes that will be sent after each Sunday Sermon. Please feel free to use these in small groups, with prayer partners, or individually.
Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 5th January service:
These 20 short verses have a lot to unpack!
Here we find Elkanah – married to Penninah and Hannah. It wasn’t unusual for men to have more than one wife so their families would be large, but in this instance Hannah was unable to conceive children which caused Hannah great anguish and pain.
Each year the family would travel to Shiloh to worship the Lord, and we find Hannah praying to God for a son. She is depressed and desperate for a child. Each year on this trip Hannah’s husband’s other wife taunts her constantly and even though Elkanah loves Hannah dearly (we see him telling her so in verse 8) Hannah is so troubled.
When Hannah is seen praying by Eli, the priest, he mistakes her prayers for drunkenness as her mouth was moving but no words came out, instead she prayed in her heart. Hannah prays to God and says if she is blessed with a child she will give him to the Lord to serve Him. We know from reading Matthew 6 vs5 that Jesus himself tells us that when we pray, we shouldn’t be doing it for all to hear, but in private so that only God can hear us. Hannah explains to Eli.
After praying, Hannah leaves and her troubles are not as heavy on her heart. She has hope. Upon returning home, Hannah and Elkanah conceive a child and Hannah obeys what she said to the Lord. Samuel is then to become the first priest and prophet after the rule of the Judges is ended.
From the sermon, there were four points to think about whilst reading through these verses. They are:
1. Patience
2. Persistence
3. Power of prayer
4. Perfect timing
Questions to think about and discuss:
1. What is our own preference when we pray? Does it seem like a never-ending list of wants and needs or do we take the time to listen and be patient?
2. Prayers can sometimes take a “traffic light system” Green means prayers are answered quite quickly, amber means in may take some time, red means a prayer goes unanswered.
With each of these categories, how do we react? What emotions do we feel in the waiting?
3. Are we persistent with prayers that take more time? Do we continue to pray or give up hope?
4. If we do wait, what are our usual actions? Do we seek to listen more to God and if not, how can we do that?
5. How do we feel before prayer and after prayer? Think about how we feel physically, emotionally and spiritually.
6. Have there been times when a prayer has gone unanswered and then something else has happened that we are thankful for? What can we take from these times and use it to understand God’s faithfulness and plans for us?
