Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.  In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.  And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth.  Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.  Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.  So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
1 Samuel 1:9-20 (NIV)

An anonymous writer once wrote, “Prayer moves the hand that moves the universe.”  When you say that in a room full of Christians you get a lot of nods, and maybe even a few “amen’s”.  But do we really believe that?

In these days of popcorn prayers and arrow prayers and “a word of prayer” before services start, do we really believe that these short, perfunctory words actually do much to move the hand of God?  Does the way we pray really demonstrate that we understand that the very God of the universe is giving us an audience to hear what we want or need from Him?  None of these questions are rhetorical; they all have answers for each of us.

In Hannah, we see real prayer – prayer that moves the hand of God.  She is so focused on what she so desperately needs God to do for her that she isn’t even aware of anyone else being around her.  She is so passionate in her longing for God to reply that she is willing to do whatever God wants of her, including giving her child right back to the Lord who would give him to her.  She truthfully describes her prayer as “pouring out (her) heart before the Lord,” and “praying out of (her) great anguish and grief.”

Hannah received assurance that her prayers had been answered, and her pregnancy was the proof that it was so.  She had moved the hand that moves the universe, and the impossible happened.

How many of us really pray like Hannah, from the very depths of our souls?  How many of us truly agonize in prayer until we know that God has heard us?  It seems clear that the dearth of miracles and mighty movements of god among us today is the result of anemic prayers said more out of habit and hope than out of passion and true understanding of what we are supposed to be doing when we pray.

The Bible is full of images of God’s people praying mighty prayers from their hearts:  from Moses standing in the gap pleading with God not to destroy the Israelites; to Elijah, praying on top of Mt. Carmel for God to defend His name by fire from heaven; to Jesus, praying anguished prayers form the depths of His soul at Gethsemane; and dozens more.  These prayers mightily moved the hand of God.  They changed people, changed circumstances, and even changed the course of history.

I think that it is time for God’s people to get back to praying powerful prayers, scrapping the form prayers that are convenient but impotent, refusing to ever “open with a word of prayer” that lacks passion or any real purpose other than to put a religious patina on the proceedings.  If we can’t be passionate about what we are praying about, we should just skip it – the results will probably be the same.

Please understand – I am not against prayer at all – in fact I am a great believer in the effectiveness of passionate prayer.  But I sincerely believe that way to many of us, myself included, have fallen into the habit of praying unpassionate prayers because they are easier, quicker, and simpler than the real thing.  But they are also totally ineffective.  I believe with all my heart that God really would love to meet our needs and answer our prayers, but He will only do that if we pray, real, heartfelt, passionate prayers that will move His heart as well as His hand.