Hannah's Power of Prayer & 5 Benefits of Prayer

Do you want to know just how life-changing the power of prayer is? An often-overlooked biblical figure that exemplifies this is Hannah. Let’s explore Hannah’s power of prayer and how it led to her finally giving birth to a much-awaited child.

Simply put, prayer is powerful! As a witness to answered prayers myself, I know first-hand the power of prayer. The evidence of the power of prayer is very evident and inspiring in the story of Hannah. She cried and prayed for the same thing consistently for years with no success… until one day it all changed.

Her prayers may have taken years to get answered, but when God finally did answer, He opened up the floodgates of Heaven and poured out a mighty blessing. Her story really captures the sweetness of God and shows that He hears us when we pray and cry out to Him.

In this post you will learn how the power of prayer changed Hannah’s life for the better and you’ll learn five good benefits of prayer.

After reading this post, you’ll understand the goodness and redemption of God, how He sweetly blessed Hannah, and why prayer is so powerful.

This post is all about power of prayer.

Power of Prayer

Evidence of the power of prayer

In 1 Samuel chapter 1, a woman named Hannah existed. She was married, but she and her husband struggled to have children. No matter how hard they tried to conceive a child they failed. This greatly saddened Hannah, so one day she cried out to God and prayed to Him for a son. As she prayed, she made a vow to God that if He blessed her to have a son, then she would dedicate her son to God for his entire life. God honored her prayer, and blessed her to be the mother of the highly respected Old Testament prophet, Samuel.

Samuel is considered to be the last judge of Israel before Israel transitioned to being led by kings. God was with Samuel as he led Israel. He blessed him to become a well-respected prophet and used him to anoint the first and second King’s of Israel –both Saul and David.

God is so good, because not only did He bless Hannah with one child, but God blessed her to have five other children, after Samuel. The Lord heard Hannah’s cries and prayers and filled her with long-awaited joy when He answered her prayers. Hannah didn’t give up on God and God didn’t give up on her either! She may have waited a long time to receive an answered prayer, but when she did get what she prayed for, God multiplied it and gave her more than what she originally asked for. The woman who once cried about not having any children ended up with a total of six, after she prayed to God. This is a wonderful example of the power of prayer and how prayer can and will change things for the better—no matter how bad things may look or seem.

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What are the 5 benefits of prayer?

God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit in prayer.
The answer we may be looking for can sometimes come to us while in prayer. Have you ever had a thought come to you as you were praying, a thought that wasn’t your own? A thought that was so helpful, insightful, and informative? That thought can sometimes be the Holy Spirit giving you clarity, guidance, direction, etc. Years ago, there was a time when I asked God what was His will for me, and He told me! I was not expecting Him to even answer me in that moment, but He did. Soon after telling me what His will was, He also confirmed it through a friend. Had I not prayed about it, then I wouldn’t have known what His will for me was, at that time.

It keeps our relationship with God alive and active.
Lack of communication can kill any relationship. When we pray, we get the chance to communicate our needs and desires to God. God wants us to come to Him in prayer and cast our worries onto Him, just as 1 Peter 5:7 states. We must also remember that communication is a two-way streak. It’s not just about us constantly talking and conveying our needs to God. We must remember that praying is also about listening as well. Always leave time to listen for God because He may just speak!

It makes us feel better.
Have you ever felt so down, awful, or sad before praying, but afterwards you just felt so much better? That’s because prayer uplifts us and gives us peace. It makes us feel better knowing that we’re releasing our cares, stresses, worries, and everything onto God and letting Him handle it. It’s like talking to a really good friend or therapist when you’re going through something unpleasant. Life can be hard and prayer is so needed when the going gets rough. Next time you feel down or discouraged, just pray and let God know how you feel and I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.

It encourages you to pursue God in other ways.
When prayer becomes a part of your daily routine, you’ll naturally start gravitating to God in other ways. It opens the door for more time spent in worship, praise, reading His Word, etc. When I made prayer a daily practice I also began listening to helpful sermons, listening to gospel music, thanking and praising God more, reading the Bible a lot more, and silencing my mind so that I can hear God speak. The act of prayer alone, actually deepens your relationship with God, which in turn, will give you an enriched and rewarding experience with Him.

You will get closer to God.
As with any relationship the more you speak to one another, the closer you’ll become. And the closer you become, the more alike you’ll become—because birds of a feather, do flock together. As you seek God more and more through prayer, you’ll find yourself wanting to be more like Him. For instance, I used to casually use profanity words as I spoke, but the closer that I got to God, I knew I had to stop. I had to ask myself, “Would God approve of me talking like this?” The answer was “No,” so I stopped. My desire to please God and be more like Him took over, the closer we became. James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” This scripture is so true!

Why is prayer so powerful?

If a baby didn’t communicate its needs to its parents by crying, then the parents would never know the baby needed a diaper change, was sick, hungry, etc. Similarly, prayer is us communicating our needs to our Father—God. There is power in prayer because not only do we communicate to God, but He communicates to us as well in prayer, through the Holy Spirit. Prayer also shows that we have faith and trust in Him. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be praying to Him. Another reason prayer is so powerful is that it shows that we believe that He actually exist. Which is required, as His Word states in Hebrews 11:6, “He who comes to Him must first believe that He exist.” When you pray to God, you’re actively showing Him that you believe in Him and that He is your one and only God—and that’s exactly what He wants.

Is there really power in prayer?

Absolutely! I know from my own experience to never underestimate the power of prayer. There was a time when I moved to a new city, and I didn’t have a job lined up. I know it was irresponsible of me, but in prayer I expressed my worry to God about not having a job and how was I going to pay my bills after my savings ran out? So, I woke up one morning and I just let it all out. I told God how I felt about the situation, that it bothered me, and asked that He provide me with a job quickly.

Right after I prayed, I went to the store to grab a broom, because I was still unpacking and cleaning my new place. As I went to the register the store clerk asked me, “Hey, do you need a job?” And I shockingly said, “Yes!” I couldn’t believe he had just asked me that, especially since I had literally just prayed about needing a job. I let him know that I had just moved to the city and was looking for a job, then he offered me a job right on the spot. I started working there two days later, and that job helped me get by until I was able to find something better. So, if you’re wondering if prayer really works or if there is power in prayer, I can attest to it… YES, it works!

Power of prayer scriptures

James 5:13-15, “Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”
James 5:16, “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Matthew 18:19-20, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.”
Matthew 21:22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Thanks for reading this post about power of prayer. Hopefully, it helped you! Your comments are greatly appreciated.