3 Woman Who Prayed in Bold Faith: Deborah Hannah Anna

Women of faith in the Bible are wonderful life stories to encourage our heart. We can learn many lessons from their personal experience that can guide us in our life.

What can we learn from these 3 women whose prayer life was built consistently on their faith in the Lord? Were they stronger than us, or can we have the same type of prayer life as they did?

Were they used any less than men of God in their time? Do you think God hesitated to use them for His glory because they were women?

We will be looking at the lives of 3 women of the Bible and what we can learn from their prayer life:

• Deborah
• Hannah
• Anna

Deborah

Background:

Judges 4:1-3 NIV “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.”

Who is Deborah?

She is a prophet the Lord set as leader of Israel at this time. The Israelites came to her to settle disputes.

Circumstances

The Lord gives instruction to Deborah to give to Barak, son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. He is to take 10,000 of his men to Mount Tabor. Deborah would lead Sisera to the Kishon River and give him to Barak.

Barak asks for Deborah to go with him which she agrees to but tells him, he would not get the honor of taking Sisera, but a woman would because of his unwillingness to go according to God’s instructions.

Barak and Deborah, with the Lord’s guidance, did overcome them but Sisera gets away. A woman ends up killing Sisera and gets the honor.

Deborah Song

Judges 5:1-3 NIV “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the Lord! “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.”

Judges 5:31 NIV ““So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”

The full song can be read at Bible Gateway.

Through their victory of defeating Sisera, they gave God the honor and glory due His name for it was truly His victory.

What can we learn from Deborah’s prayer life?

• Deborah’s consistent prayer life did not begin with her song. Looking at her life, God had appointed her a prophet and leader of Israel. This shows that her strength in the Lord came from many hours of communicating with Him in obedience.
• Deborah was a rare example for this time in history. Not many women were in leadership roles. What made her stand out to be in this position? Her faith was so strong that God did not hesitate to appoint her over men at that time.
• Deborah did not fail God. She showed courage and leadership in a difficult situation. Was she special, no. She was obedient.
• Deborah lead with God’s wisdom. She did not turn from God’s instruction even though Barak was weak. She led him in God’s direction.
• Deborah’s song is one about the glory of God. In their success, they could have taken the glory for themselves. She worshipped God in the victory.

Hannah

Background:

1 Samuel 1:1-2 NIV “There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

Who is Hannah?

As we see in the above verses, Hannah is the wife of Elkanah, along with a second wife, Peninnah. Hannah was barren while Peninnah had children.

Circumstances

Each year, Elkanah would go to Shiloh to worship the Lord. When he sacrificed, he gave Peninnah and her children a portion of the meat and Hannah a double portion because he loved her and the Lord had closed her womb.

Peninnah would irritate Hannah until she would cry because she was barren. Hannah was deeply depressed but this time stood up to pray. She made a vow to the Lord that if He gave her a son, she would then give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.

Eli was observing her and because her lips were moving and yet he could not hear her, he thought she was drunk. He approached her about it and she told him she was full of anguish and grief pouring out her soul to the Lord.

He told her to go in peace and she would receive what she had asked for. She was no longer depressed and began to eat.

Hannah did become pregnant, had a son and fulfilled her vow to the Lord. Her son Samuel, was raised in the temple under Eli. He became a prophet and served later in Eli’s place. Hannah later had 3 sons and 2 daughters.

What can we learn from Hannah’s first prayer?

• Hannah was in constant sorrow because she had no children. Did she lash out at Peninnah, mistreat her? How did she choose to handle her pain? She went to the Lord and poured out her heart about her circumstances. She had faith that He would hear her.
• How did Hannah show her faithfulness to the Lord? Her submission to the Lord is shown in her vow to give her son to the Lord’s service.
• How did Hannah react when she learned her prayer had been answered? Her faith in God’s answer was shown by the change in her expression and eating. God’s joy took the place of her depression.

Hannah’s Prayer of Worship

1 Samuel 2:1-2 NIV “Then Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

Read the full prayer at Bible Gateway.

Hannah gave the Lord full glory in her time of victory. She was fully committed to her God.

Anna

Background

Luke 2:26-28 NIV “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Who is Anna?

She was a very old, widowed prophet who lived at the temple.

Circumstances

Anna was in the Temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for purification rites and His consecration to the Lord according to the Mosiac Law. She gave thanks to God because she had seen God’s promise and told everyone about the redemption that comes through Jesus Christ.

Anna’s Prayer

What was Anna’s prayer? “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”

What can we learn from Anna’s prayer?

• Anna, even in her old age was devoted to the Lord so much she worshipped Him night and day.
• She truly lived a Godly lifestyle by worshipping God and witnessing for Him.
• Because of her love for the Lord, she witnessed God’s promise of redemption.

Conclusion

We see how the Lord used women who loved and served Him with all their heart. He did not hesitate to give them as role models for us to follow.

Did He use their example because they are stronger than us? Their stories come to us because of their love and obedience to Him. We can be just like them, strong in our God.

Are there any of the 3 women’s experiences that speaks to your situation? Have their prayers inspired you to draw closer to the Lord? Can you see any of their lessons that can be applied to your life?