COLUMN: Pastor’s Pen

I hope you are all keeping well and have managed to stay Covid free.

It has been a challenging time for us all.

The weather, now typical for July, was glorious for two months earlier in the year and we looked upon it as a Godsend - just when we needed it to lift our spirits.Are you thinking about the virus less or are you still very nervous? The important thing is to stay careful. Keep the hand washing and the social distancing going and, of course, most importantly, keep the prayers going. Prayers for those suffering the effects of the virus, prayers for a vaccine, prayers for protection as we regain some freedom, prayers for a revival in our land and in our Church. We have so much to thank God for and always so much to ask Him for!

Today, I would like to tell you about Hannah’s prayer – as she asks God – have You forgotten me?

Have you ever felt that God has forgotten you?

Maybe you have been praying for something for a long time – and God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayer and you begin to wonder if He’s listening to you.

Hannah was in a heart-breaking situation and she needed nothing less than a miracle. There was a man Whose name was Elkanah. He had two wives; one Hannah and one Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

Note the desperate, painful words: “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.” Hannah had no children in a world in which bearing children served as the chief source of a woman’s esteem, provision and protection. Apart from her lifelong passion to be a mother. Hannah wept bitterly and prayed: “O Lord Almighty, look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and do not forget your servant but give her a son” ( 1Samuel 1: 10-11).

If we were to sum it up in two words they might be Remember me!

Jesus told a parable of a persistent widow, she badgered a judge until he gave into her request. He used it to demonstrate the importance of persistence in prayer; never give up. God is listening. He answered Hannah and He will answer you but we are sometimes conveniently blind and deaf to His voice.

God loves you - He sent His Son to die for you - He remembers You – never give up.

Love in Christ, Carol.

* This week’s Pastor’s pen is by Rev. Carol Harvey