Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
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Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest
Victors, Jan, 1619-1676. Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55181 [retrieved December 29, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hannah_VICTORS,_Jan.jpg. |
Exploring the Text: Abundant blessings
In 1 Samuel chapter 1 we are introduced to Hannah, the wife of Elkanah and soon to be mother of Samuel. She is distressed because he is barren and Elkanah's other wife has had multiple children. She prays desperately that God would give her a son and promises that she will give him back to God. God answers her prayer and she gives birth to a son and names him Samuel. True to her word, when he is old enough, she brings him back to the tabernacle to serve God all the days of his life. Every year Elkanah and Hannah would return to the tabernacle to make the required sacrifice and Hannah would bring a new robe that she had made for Samuel.
Each year Eli, the high priest, would bless Elkanah and Hannah and ask the Lord to give them more children. In 1 Samuel 2:21, we see that God did indeed give Hannah more children. She had a total of three sons and two daughters.
So what can we take from this? Hannah had asked God to give her a son to take away her reproach. God did indeed give her a son, but he did not stop with just that one. One would have been enough for Hannah, but God poured out abundant blessings, not just enough. She who had born the reproach of barrenness, now was awash with children.
It is often the same with us. If we take the time to reflect and see, God has poured out abundant blessings on us as well. We sometimes forget them, but they are there if we take the time to look. How has God abundantly blessed you?
In 1 Samuel chapter 1 we are introduced to Hannah, the wife of Elkanah and soon to be mother of Samuel. She is distressed because he is barren and Elkanah's other wife has had multiple children. She prays desperately that God would give her a son and promises that she will give him back to God. God answers her prayer and she gives birth to a son and names him Samuel. True to her word, when he is old enough, she brings him back to the tabernacle to serve God all the days of his life. Every year Elkanah and Hannah would return to the tabernacle to make the required sacrifice and Hannah would bring a new robe that she had made for Samuel.
Each year Eli, the high priest, would bless Elkanah and Hannah and ask the Lord to give them more children. In 1 Samuel 2:21, we see that God did indeed give Hannah more children. She had a total of three sons and two daughters.
So what can we take from this? Hannah had asked God to give her a son to take away her reproach. God did indeed give her a son, but he did not stop with just that one. One would have been enough for Hannah, but God poured out abundant blessings, not just enough. She who had born the reproach of barrenness, now was awash with children.
It is often the same with us. If we take the time to reflect and see, God has poured out abundant blessings on us as well. We sometimes forget them, but they are there if we take the time to look. How has God abundantly blessed you?