No Weapon Formed Against You Will Prosper

No Weapon Formed Against You Will Prosper

1 Samuel 2:4 “The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength.”

I decided to read the story of Hannah this morning. This month in mentoring the theme is Surrender. One of the videos I watched talked about Hannah and how amazing it was that she prayed to the Lord and then surrendered the outcome to the Lord. She also surrendered the fruit of those prayers to the Lord. I kinda knew the story of Hannah. I knew she wanted a baby and yet didn’t have any children. I don’t know if I knew that her husband’s other wife taunted her often, but she did. One day, Hannah went to the temple and cried inconsolably. She cried out to the Lord, and she made a vow to Him that if He stopped neglecting her and gave her a son, she would give the son back to God unreservedly and completely.

Hannah did conceive, and she had a baby boy. She named him Samuel, and when he was three, she brought him to the temple and gave her son to Eli to be dedicated to the Lord and to serve the Lord with Eli. After she gave her son over to the Lord, she prayed a beautiful prayer. Hannah was rejoicing in the Lord and celebrating his goodness. When I think about this, I wonder how she was able to be so happy.

I understand being grateful to the Lord for conceiving a son, and yet she wasn’t going to get to raise that son. That seems so sad to me. In the past, whenever I would think about this, I would wonder why it was so important for her to have a baby if she was never really going to get to see the baby. This morning God just revealed to me something that I didn’t really think of before.

In the age we are living in today, we know that there are many reasons why a woman might not be able to conceive. Back when Hannah lived, there was just one reason, and it was that God had kept you from conceiving. It doesn’t say in the Bible why Hannah wanted to have a baby. It does say that the Lord kept her from conceiving. In 1 Samuel 1:4-7a, it says,  “On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah, he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.  Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.  So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her.”

It was customary for all to believe that if you couldn’t conceive, it was because God didn’t favor you or He had forgotten you. This could have been why it was so important for Hannah to have a child. She wanted to show everyone that God did not forsake her. She might have wanted to prove to everyone that she was favored by the Lord as well. It might have been less about being a mom and more about proving to everyone she was not forgotten by the Lord. It also could have been that she was tired of getting tormented each year by her husband’s other wife.

When we don’t understand something in our lives, we can surrender it to the Lord and ask for His help. Hannah was being tormented by someone for something she had no control over. She cried out to the Lord, and He helped her. He heard her cry and answered her prayers. He can do the same for you.

The verse above says, “The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength.” This is from the message translation. It is from the prayer that Hannah prayed to the Lord after she dedicated her son to the Lord. She is stating that the weapons of the strong can’t stand against the Lord. Her rival tormented her about being unable to conceive, and her words hurt Hannah very much. However, Hannah is a daughter of God, and so the weapons formed against her will not prosper. Instead, God gave Hannah the strength to keep going on day after day. He gave her the strength to go to the temple and pray that God take this burden from her.

God can smash to pieces the weapons of your enemies, too. He can infuse you with a strength you didn’t even know you had. We need to go to Him and ask Him, though. We can’t just sit around in our misery and expect God to work. We need to ask Him, invite Him in and He will come in and help us. If you are struggling with something right now, if you need help right now, if you have prayers you really need answered, bring it to the Lord. You don’t have to make a vow like Hannah did. Just cry out to the Lord and tell Him all that is on your heart. Don’t hide anything from Him, as He already knows everything in your heart.

When you cry out to Him, He hears your cries, and He will intervene. We are not alone in our battles. We are never alone in our battles. God is right there with us, fighting alongside us. Yet sometimes, we don’t ask Him into the battle with us. He is a gentleman, and He wants to be invited in. If you want to fight your battle alone, He will be right there next to you, but He will let you fight it alone. If you want Him to fight alongside you, if you want Him to smash to pieces the weapons of your enemies, then invite Him into the fight. Give Him permission to work in your life, and then see what a difference there is when you invite Him in.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we want you to fight with us. We are calling out to you today from the deep recesses of our hearts. We ask that you hear and answer our cries. Lord, many people are listening who have some pretty big requests, and they are looking for some pretty big answers. However, we know nothing is too big or too hard for you. We thank you for hearing our cries and for destroying all weapons formed against us. We are grateful you are for us and not against us. We are grateful you are a waymaker and a miracle worker. We love you, Lord, and we ask all this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Use the power that I give you. Use it now. Use it faithfully each day. And you will bring many to me, your God who loves you.”

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