Keys from the Life of Samuel

Imagine your child waking up in the morning excited to spend time with God. Imagine if the first thing they wanted to do when they woke up was grab their Bible, read a passage and sit in God’s presence waiting for Him to speak. Imagine your child’s journal full of pictures and visions from Heavens courts. Pictures jam-packed with heavenly revelation direct from God’s heart to theirs. Imagine your child’s journal full of pictures, words and ideas from God about who they are in Him, their gifts, talents, calling and purpose recorded for them to read over, review, evaluate and get deep into their little hearts and spirits. Imagine how strong they would be in their identity, in God’s love and in how they see themselves from God’s perspective.

Is this something you want for your child?

Today we will learn a few keys from the Prophet Samuel and his mother Hannah that we can practically apply to our lives as parents. If we do these things we can set our children up to fulfil Christ’s mighty calling for their lives!

Hannah, Samuels mother was a woman of prayer

When we read the story of Samuel we quickly recognize that Samuel was born because his mother was a woman of prayer. Hannah was barren and couldn’t have children but instead of giving up she pressed into God in intercessory prayer, crying tears of anguish to God, petitioning Him for a child. It was in her travail that God heard her cry and she became pregnant with Samuel.

Hannah modelled a life of prayer. If want our children to pray, we need to live a life of prayer.

Hannah dedicated Samuel into God’s service

In her travail Hannah made a vow to God. She promised that if God gave her a child she would dedicate him in to God’s service. This promise wasn’t just lip service to God. When the boy was young she literally handed him over to the High Priest and Samuel entered God’s service. This must have been heart-breaking for Hannah who had dreamed of this boy for so long through many tears. To give him into God’s service was a mighty act of faith and obedience! God honoured her obedience by giving her five more children.

As parents we need to hand over our children to God. This is an act of the heart. We surrender our children to God by faith trusting Him with their futures and rely on his wisdom to raise them according to His plans for their lives.

Samuel slept in God’s presence

Samuels bedroom contained the Ark of God. The Ark of God in the days before Christ was where the Holy Spirit lived on earth, it was the tangible presence of God. Samuel was positioned in the presence of God, and from the Presence God spoke.

As parents we need to help children cultivate a friendship with the Holy Spirit. As New Testament believers we have the Holy Spirit within us, and have 24/7 access to Him. By teaching our kids to have conversations with the Holy Spirit anywhere and anytime we can establish them in a close relationship with Him, where they know His voice clearly and distinctly.

1 Samuel 3: 19 “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuels words fall to the ground.”

Samuel cultivated a relationship with the Presence of God and as he did he was able to clearly discern God’s voice and God’s character. He became known as a Prophet in Israel and his prophetic words were regarded as the voice of the God to his generation.

Hearing God’s voice and understanding God’s character is progressive. As we spend time in God’s presence we get to know who He is and how he speaks. If we do this regularly we reap the benefit of the principle of accumulation. What we focus on grows.

Will we be parents who prioritize friendship with God and hearing His voice?

Will we be parents who pass on this legacy to our children?

Or will we focus on other things?

What we focus on communicates what we value, and what we value we will pass onto our children whether we want to or not.

Conclusion

Samuels life is a reservoir of wisdom for us to draw from. In our short time together we have been able to glean so much from his story. Below is a summary:

• Be parents of prayer: Hannah modelled a life of prayer to Samuel
• Dedicate your children to God and His service: We do this by entrusting our children to God in faith and relying on Him to raise our children
• Teach your children to know the Holy Spirit and his voice: Samuel cultivated a relationship with God’s presence
• Teach your children to create a daily habit of seeking God’s voice: Samuel grew in relationship with God through the daily practice of seeking Him.

Hannah left a legacy. She raised a child who became a leader of a generation of Israelites.

What legacy do you want to leave?

Let’s Pray

Lord Jesus,

Thank you for the legacy Hannah left behind. She was a mother totally devoted to You and Your purposes which reflected in the fruit of her child Samuel. Teach us to be like Hannah, teach us to be parents totally surrendered to Your plans for us and our children. We boldly ask that we would leave an even greater legacy that she did, that our children would influence their generation for Christ! Amen.

ANDREW AUSTIN

Childrens' Pastor