Samuel 3:1
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
Scripture Insights
“What’s wrong with the church today?” Many of us feel compelled to ask this question and seek answers. Self-proclaimed experts offer their opinions, and some predict worse things ahead. But take heart, people of God.
The story of young Samuel offers a profound, simple, hopeful way for the church to think about the mission of God in these days. Samuel’s mother, Han- nah, couldn’t have imagined the results of her prayer. She prayed for a child and literally gave him to the Lord. Her act of earnest crying out and her costly obedience were the beginning of a powerful change in that generation and beyond.
What would happen if a generation of parents and grandparents today be- gan to cry out to God, praying for the next generations? And not simply praying for them but offering them to God to be used for the work of the kingdom?
Committing to raise them in the knowledge that the hopes and dreams of the fulfillment of God’s great mission are prayed over them, with the hope that they might go with our blessing to accomplish all God has in mind?
Simple. Profound. Show us the way!
Today’s Prayer
Lord give us the heart of Hannah, that we might not look for answers to the brokenness of our world through someone else’s child but through our own. Lord, prepare us to prepare them to go in your name.
Prayer Journal Reflections
Reflect on the vision of the church in Canada and the United States.
—Rob Songer
District Superintendent, Central California
