The Grands Letter (1 Sam/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on January 1, 2026 5:27 am (CST)
Dear Grands,
1 Samuel 2:18-21, “Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.
19 And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, ‘May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.’ And they went to their own home.
21 The LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.”
Did you ever know anyone who endeavored to bargain with the LORD? (Don’t answer that! It might be self-incriminating.) All kidding aside, have we not often said, “Oh, LORD! If You’ll just answer this prayer, I will be and do what You want of me”? Yet, it is not the LORD’s business to bargain with His subjects. He does answer prayer, yet it is answered according to His will. And His will is always better for us than our own.
In any event, Hannah, young Samuel’s mother, continued to “make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year” when she attended worship with her husband. Eli, the priest, saw the dedication and desire of Hannah’s heart; thus, he would appeal to the LORD for children for Hannah.
The LORD heard the prayer of Eli, the priest. Moreover, He saw the dedication of Samuel’s mother; thus, “she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.”
We often wonder why the LORD does not answer our prayers. Could it be that we lack the spiritual dedication the LORD desires in us? Perhaps we should focus on being what the LORD desires; that He might be inclined to focus on the desires of our hearts?
Happy New Year!
Heartily in Christ,
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America
“We will never know that Christ is all we need,
Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom
