Women of the Bible

http://mulheres-cristas.blogspot.com/
Thanks for visiting!
Ana, a woman who prayed
"He rose Ana [...] She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord wept."
(1 Sam 1.9a-10.) The Bible tells the story of an extraordinary woman, Ana She li
ved in the period judges. A time when "there was no king in Israel: every man di
d what seemed right" (Judges 21:25). Her husband's name was Elkanah, the man of
the tribe of Ephraim, the youngest son of Joseph Hannah and Elkanah lived in the
highlands of Ephraim, in RamatainZofim. He was loving and always looking to ple
ase his beloved wife, or with words of encouragement, either through attitudes o
f honor and confessions of his sincere love. But Anna had a great anguish in her
heart: she was barren. I could never bear children. The passing years would con
solidate their sorrow. He felt unable to respond to the love of her husband, giv
ing him a fruit of love: a son, blessed seed to perpetuate the family name and c
onsecrate the union of the two. Furthermore, the Bible reports that Ana had a ri
val: Penina. This was the second wife of Elkanah and had children with him. Mayb
e Elkanah has married Penina also precisely because of the sterility of Anne ..
And Penina excessively irritated and sensitive to poor Anne, because it had the
love of her husband. "On the day Elkanah offered his sacrifice, he would give po
rtions of the Penina, his wife and all his sons and daughters. Ana, however, gav
e a double portion because he loved her, yet even that the Lord had left barren
"(1 Samuel 1.4-5). Every year, during the feasts of the Jewish calendar, Elkanah
went up with his family to worship the Lord, taking their tithes and sacrifices
of praise and thanksgiving, rejoicing in the presence of God. But Anna could no
t rejoice in the annual feasts because of irritation of Penina, [...] "therefore
she wept and would not eat." (1 Sam 1.7.) There are many women who have the lov
e of her husband, are honored by them, but do not feel held because of their ste
rility. Many even feel guilty for not beget children. The anguish of the heart i
s sick physically. Other women experience sore tears, caused by constant irritat
ion of envy declared who is so close, on daily basis. Irritation that sounds lik
e a constant dripping that causes mad and lose the joy of enjoying life. These a
re situations of conflict that embitter the heart, then you can not see the sun,
but only the shadows of chronic problems.
What to do? Ana gives us the answer: pray. Pray with intensity and firmness. Pra
y with perseverance toward the perfect will of God. Risking ask the realization
of the dream of his life. Posting on the heart of God all the anxiety of the hum
an heart and hope, with faith, what will happen ... It seemed that the sweet wor
ds of Elkanah could not enter the heart of his wife: [...] "Hannah, why are you
weeping? And why do not you eat? And why is thy heart grieved? Am I not better t
han ten sons? "(1 Sam 1.8.) Anna could not bring concerns to her husband. She ne
eded to find the solution and stop their passive attitude of just crying. Then,
after they had eaten and drunk, before returning home that year, "rose Ana [...]
she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord, wept bitterly" (1 Sam 1.
9a-10). She took the decisive action of war in the spiritual world: praying with
all its intensity, with her tears, her heart transparent and sincere. Ana is po
ured into supplication before God. "And she vowed a vow, saying, 'Lord of Hosts,
if kindly look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not fo
rget thine handmaid, and you give him a son, the Lord will give to all the days
of his life, and over his head no razor. '"(v.11). Anna knew the story of Samson
, the Nazarite champion of God, which failed because of his sin, but she knew th
at God needed a "champion" to be used by him in that generation. Ana was willing
to give their best for God and their nation. There are two very important thing
s in Hannah's prayer to be observed: here, the first time, God is called in Scri
pture "The Lord of Hosts," "Yahweh Sabaoh. Anne knew that was true in the spirit
ual battle within the family and national levels. His nation was living under th
e wrongdoing of the sons of the priest Eli, who let the sheep of Israel before t
he unprotected enemy. And there was also war in the house of Elkanah, with Ana a
nd Penina constantly provoking "sticking it to the flesh" with evil words. Ana t
hen prayed to the Lord of Hosts. She believed in a God who rules over all things
. She believed that the Lord hears the cry of the weak,€helpless and distressed
... It is very important that we approach God by believing in their existence a
nd that He rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6). You must know wh
o our God. What is the extent of their power. What is the size of the love he sh
ows for his people. It is important to know that "we do not know ought to pray b
ut the Spirit of God helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us with groanin
gs uttered" (Rom. 8.26), hallelujah! We must pray with faith. "Lingering if she
continued praying before the Lord, that Eli observed her lip movements, Hannah s
poke in her heart, her lips moved, but not if he heard no voice: therefore Eli t
hought she was drunk. "(v.12-13.) When we pray with all the intensity of his sou
l, Ana would now stand trial false about him. Eli thought she was drunk and
caught his attention. She might have felt offended and never want to return to S
hiloh, to the priest Eli But his struggle was not in the human. His war was spir
itual. His answer was in the hands of the Lord and He was to what it should look
. Only God. "But Hannah answered, No, my lord! I am a woman of spirit, I have dr
unk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
Thou not thy handmaid for a wicked woman, because the excess of my grief have I
spoken hitherto. "(V.15). How important is keeping its eyes on the Lord and not
ourselves! As Anna gives us a proof of a heart firm and confident in answering w
ith respect to whom the offended ... She explained respectfully and did not take
into account the trial precipitated Eli How many problems would be solved more
easily if people would not feel so easily offended ... Many women create true "w
orkhorses" with words and situations that do not deserve as much emphasis. The t
ruth speaks for itself only, no need to bother with silly falsehoods about us. T
he priest Eli brought a prophetic word to Anne: [...] "Go in peace and the God o
f Israel grant your petition that you did." (V.17). It was just this word that A
na needed: peace and confirmation of God's will in his heart. She took possessio
n of peace, and the text tells us that she, then went his way and ate, and was n
o longer sad his face, hallelujah! There, in that moment came the healing of the
soul of Anna was when poured from your heart before the Lord when faced misunde
rstanding and calumny and remained steadfast in its desire to seek God, is that
Anna tried to pursue peace living, thinking and dreaming God's dreams for you ..
. Today is no longer need a priest to tell us the words of Eli, for the Scriptur
es assure us that God hears our prayers. The Lord desires that we put on him all
our anxiety because it cares for us, alleluia! The prophetic word for our victo
ry in prayer has already been pronounced by the Lord Jesus: "Ask and give it unt
o you ..." (Read Luke 11.9-13.) Ana gets up in the Old Testament as a prayer war
rior. She receives the response beloved of the Lord: a son, Samuel. It fulfills
the vow he had made, returning his son to the Lord's service, leaving him in the
temple in Shiloh: "As far as I bring also returned to the Lord all the days to
live because the Lord asked." ( v.28.) There would be no better place for your l
ittle Samuel than the house of the Lord in the Lord of hosts, hallelujah! And An
a with her husband and son loved the Lord. Hannah sang a beautiful hymn to the L
ord. Many years later, Mary would also sing the Lord's glory and the fulfillment
of his word, also through a song similar to Ana for you to ponder:
How would you feel in the place of Ana? How would being irritated by his rival d
aily, being maligned by a man of God? __________________________________________
___________________ ____________________________________________________________
____ What is the difficulty you have in the marital relationship? What have you
done about it? _____________________________________________________________ ___
______________________________________________________________ Do you have someo
ne who envies you,€you uncomfortable and even angry with your actions? How do y
ou react to these provocations? ________________________________________________
_____________ _________________________________________________________________
Have you been slandered by a suitable person? How you behaved? What would be the
 correct attitude in this situation? ___________________________________________
__________________ _____________________________________________________________
____ You're a woman of prayer? How and when you pray? __________________________
___________________________________ ____________________________________________
_____________________ At present, what is your petition? _______________________
______________________________________ _________________________________________
_______________________
Read the texts and meditate on the ways and reasons for prayer that the Bible gi
ves us: Phil 4.6-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-4, James 4.2-3, 1 Pet 4.7; Ps 55.22, Luke 11.9
-13, Rom 10.3.
Pastor Angela V. Cintra Gideons Leader of Prayer Ministry: (31) 3421-2003, 3421-
2993.