Hannah. Who was Hannah? Well, Chapter 1 will introduce her to you, tell you about her. She's the wife, one of the wives of Elkanah, who was of the tribe of Levi, who was probably maybe a wealthy man because he had two wives, which was not uncommon in biblical days, you know, remember that. And while it is not the original origin pattern of Adam and Eve, one man and one wife, it became customary among the wealthy at days past to have more than one wife, not not lost even today among some cultures, I understand. But Hannah was a wife loved by her husband, Elkanah, but she was bared, which means that she was the object of scorn and ridicule. And you'll read that in the first chapter, that when they went up to pray after the temple, which was at Shiloh now at this time and had not yet come to Jerusalem. This book is written probably, the events that take place here begins in probably about a hundred and thirty years after Israel had come into the land of Canaan under Joshua. But it's a dark time in the nation of Israel. They have become cold, indifferent toward God, complacent, satisfied with what they have accomplished and they think that they have done it by their own strength and all might. And they have forsaken the Lord and turned from Him in a lot of ways. It is a sad day. The fact of the matter is, you will read shortly in this book about Eli, who was the high priest, whose two sons, Hophri and Phinehas, were violating and desecrating the sacrifices that were brought to the temple to be given unto the Lord. They were taking more than their share. Part of the support for the ministry was that the priest got a so-called cut out of the offering, the sacrifice, that was prescribed by God, but they were doing more than what God had allotted, not only were they doing that, but they were also abusing the women that would come. Now, you remember that in Old Testament times, the women were not into the inner court of the worship service or the building, the tabernacle, but there was a separate court out where all the women would meet. That's not the way it is today. We're thankful that God has removed the walls of partition that divides us and so that people of all races, people of all gender are welcome to come to the house of the Lord. She is barren. She bears the reproach of being a barren woman in that time. There was no such thing known as any kind of artificial insemination and so throughout her life, married life, she bared this reproach. It was her reproach because Elkanah was the father of several other children by Pineo. So you'll pick it up in, I'll pick up the reading here in verse four of the first chapter of Book of Samuel chapter 1 Verse 4 well, let me start at verse 3 and this man went up out of the city Yearly to worship to sacrifice on the Lord God of hosts and Shiloh and the two sons of Eli That's the high priest and Hophni and Phinehas. That's his two sons the priest of the Lord were there and When the time was that Elkanah offered he gave to Penaiah his wife and all to all her sons and her daughters portions That means that he was wealthy sufficient. Well that he could give Appropriate whatever the gift was that they were going to take to the tabernacle and give it to the Lord He's distributed equally among all of his family but on to Hannah he gave a worthy portion which means a double portion and or he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked, and that would tell you that was Penelio, the other wife of Elkanah provoked her, therefore she wept as Hannah and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? Why eatest thou not? Why is thy heart grieved? Am I not better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drank. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by the post of the temple of the Lord. Now that's a reference to the gate into Shiloh. The word temple is also translated tabernacle. That's what it has reference to, the tabernacle of the Lord. And the gate was where people of authority, rulers would sit and that's where not only did they greet people, but word decisions were made. Now Eliak the priest sat upon a seat by the post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. And she vowed a vow and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou would indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but will give unto thy handmaid a manchild, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life. and there shall no razor come upon his head. That's the vow of the Nazarite, which meant that a man signified it by not shaving his hair. Now, all the pictures you see a lot of times of Christ with long hair, that's inappropriate. Jesus Christ, while he was reared in Nazareth, he was not a Nazarite. John the Baptist was a Nazarite, but not Jesus Christ. And so, not a razor can be upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continually continued praying before the Lord that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard, that's to man. Therefore God, therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, how long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thy handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go at peace. The God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. No more sad. She believed God's promise. And they rose up in the morning early and worshipped the Lord, and returned and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her." Now, while I'm just reading there, Elkanah knew Hannah. You understand, you who are adults, you understand what that reference is, that there was a love embrace between Elkanah and Hannah. Now the reason I make reference to that is because of the word foreknow. In the Romans chapter 8, for instance, the word foreknow is used there, and some people think that that only means that God foreknows about things. May I explain to you that it means much more than that. It is reference to God having foreloved His elect people before the foundation of the world. That's what it has reference to. The very first emotion, the very first thought that God had toward his elect people was that he chose to set his love upon us before there was ever time. God chose his people before the foundation of the world to be heirs of eternal life. And so the word for no does not simply mean that God for knew about them, but it means that God for love them with an everlasting love. And it was because of that everlasting love that God sent forth his son into the world. God did not send forth his son to die for every individual. Now, I know that that is strange doctrine to the world that we live in and to the religious world in general. And I remember when I was a young boy and younger many years ago when I heard someone say that, I thought, well, that's not fair, that's not right, that's not what I've been taught in Sunday school and so forth. But as I began to study the Word of God, reading the Word of God, I found out that it was true. God foreknew his people before the foundation of the world, set his love upon them, and sovereignly chose them unto salvation, that they might be heirs of eternal life. So that's what that word has basis now. So that's the reason why I make reference that Elkanah knew Hannah, his wife. It wasn't that they just got acquainted there. And the Lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare her son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. And the man Elkanah and all of his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice of his vow. But Hannah went not up, for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned." Modern day weaning is just a few months or weeks, but in older days it would go on for years, two or three years before a child was weaned. The child almost would get so old enough that they would themselves refuse the breast. But as long as the child would nurse, the mother would nurse the child. So it's not just a few months, this is several, couple years at least. And then I will bring him up, and he may appear before the Lord and there abide forever.' And Elkanah her husband said unto her, seemeth thee good. Tarry until thou have weaned him. Only the Lord established his word. So the woman abode and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her and with three bullocks and one ephod of flour and a bottle of wine and brought him into the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. How young? We don't know. But he was young. probably at least maybe ten years of age even passed by this time. And they slew a bullock and brought the child to Eli. And she said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord so long as he liveth. He shall be lent to the Lord. and he worshipped, that's Samuel really, and he worshipped the Lord there, and Hannah prayed. And so Brother David read to us this prayer that we have recorded for us in the second chapter of I Samuel. This chapter is a great That prayer is a great theologically sound prayer. It is more sound than what a lot of college Bible seminary professors understand about God. It is more sound, theologically sound, than what a lot of professing Christians understand about God. It declares God's absolute sovereignty and His omnipotence. I'm not going to dwell a whole lot on the election of this past week, except that I want to point out to you that the political pundits and all of the news media people cannot understand and cannot figure out what happened, what went wrong, because according to all the polls and everything, it was at least supposed to be a very close election. Well, the latest figures that I noticed and found Mr. Trump has 301 electoral votes and he has led one in the political, in the popular vote by more than 4 million votes. And so it is a very large landslide winning not only for the presidency but also for the, thankfully for the Senate and also probably for the House of Representatives. And so what has happened has been right the opposite of what all the projections and what all predictions were about the election, which was that probably that Mrs. Harris would win the election. Well now why can't they come out with the answer? Because they don't want to acknowledge the hand of God. the Bible God says the lot is cast into the lap and the lot and the lot is cast in the lap and the sum thereof is of the Lord now that's reading from the Proverbs of 16th chapter that is a declaration whereby God declares that he rules and arranged in the affairs of men. Romans the 13th chapter says that the powers of thee are ordained of God. Now I went to bed last night, I went to bed Tuesday night like most of you, looking like maybe it was going to be a democratic win for Mrs. Harris. It was very close, I thought well it's going to happen, that was my expectation. But in my praying, as I often pray many times about this election, I would pray, Lord, you put in place the man that would lead our country in the right direction. Now, let me just say, there are some things about Mr. Trump that I don't like, but as someone has said, we're not voting on a pastor or a preacher, we're voting on a president, a political office, and so there are political principles involved, but the main issues And this is the main issue to the whole, and this is the reason why the liberal crowd and the pundits don't want to acknowledge what happened. The main issue was the matters of abortion and the matters of homosexuality. That's the thing that is a deciding factor among the people of God. And that's the thing that people don't want to acknowledge, that God Almighty has manifested that this is an evil design that man would propose to bring upon our nation. Now, I don't think it's a dead issue. It's an issue that we're going to continue to face right here in our own state of Mississippi. It is an issue that's going to be continually pressed upon us by the news media, by all the college professors, and by all of the various liberal resources. So it's not a dead issue. It has been a long-standing issue from time past. I'll say even from the Garden of Eden. But it will tell you that this issue is not just a political issue, it is a religiously moral issue, and we are indeed thankful to God because He has delivered us from the oppression of those who want to oppress, bring upon us this damnable doctrine in our colleges, in our schools, and even suppress it by the news media. Well now, my point of saying to you and the reason why we have read this prayer by Hannah is because what I believe is not what Mr. Trump has been successful to accomplish, but what God Almighty has done. It is of the Lord that we have the office, the political victory that was brought about in this election. Now, I believe it had gone the other way. It had been indeed by the will of God. The powers that be are ordained of God, and as I said, I went to bed Tuesday evening, like most of you, and supposing that it was going to be a democratic victory. But in my prayer, I said, Lord, if it be thy will, and whatever your will is, help us to acknowledge it, that it is by the hand of God Almighty. I'm not in distress, and those who are in distress, it's because they don't understand the sovereign act of God. The Word of God tells us, my friend, that God rules in the affairs of men. Proverbs 16 says that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as rivers of water He turneth it whether through every with it Proverbs 21 fact matter verse 1 And the one that we look to is not to the man But we look to God Almighty who controls the outcome The lot being cast in the hand in the left and the whole thereof is disposed is of the Lord now I believe my friend that what God has done is heard the prayers of of His people. God's people have been praying, God, if it be Your will, if it be Your will, deliver us from the evil that has been forced upon us. Now friends, I love to think about the God who hears and answers the prayers of His children. Oh, what a precious promise we have in the Word of God and what many examples we have in the Word of God that God Almighty, the Eternal Creator of Heaven and Earth, God who rules in this world, is not a God of rash, harshness, meanness, that He's not a God that delights in doing evil. No, that's not our God. Our God delights in mercy and grace, and He loves to hear the prayers of His people, and He answers them. Now, who is this woman, Hannah? Well, she's a very insignificant woman. That's the whole point. Who is this woman? You don't read anymore about her. She is just an insignificant woman, a woman of scorn and ridicule because her womb was barren and she didn't have any children. Oh, there was a time, you know, somewhat like it was in days past and even here in America, that a woman who had many children, she was highly esteemed and highly honored. It certainly was that way in the biblical days. A woman who had many children, her and her husband were highly recognized as being blessed by the Lord, and that's what the Bible says, that the children are the blessing from the Lord. But she has to bear the reproach of having been barren. And when she is praying, she doesn't make a great big show of it. She's not prating up and down the street. She's not getting on, you know, of course, TV and making some, not praying. You know, God doesn't work. The Bible says, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. That's the way God does His work. He does it in such a marvelous way that the God of Heaven manifests His will in such a marvelous way that only His children understand what's going on. Only his people understand it. And so the news media and the political pundits and all the rest, they're still trying to figure out who they're going to blame, who they're going to put the problem on. Well, I'll tell you, lay it at the feet of the Lord God Almighty, because that's what he has done. Now that doesn't mean that the Republican Party or that Mr. Trump and all the rest of them that they're going to do everything right in the days that lie but he's already done some things that I don't agree with but that's he's the king I mean he's the president and so that's the way that goes but we need to be praying for God's mercy and grace upon him but what my point is that I want to share with us this morning encourage us to know that there is a God in heaven who hears and answers prayers I'll tell you a story, a quick story, taken from the book of I Kings, the 18th chapter. You know the story very well, it's the story about the prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal upon Mount Carmichael. Contest so to be held and that were by that they're going to find out which God was true the God veil or God Almighty and here's the prayer that Elijah praying 1st Kings chapter 18 and verse 37 hear me Oh Lord hear me that this people may know but thou art the Lord God and that thou has turned their heart back again Now, you know the story what happened they poured out They tried to get their God, and Elijah said, let's make a sacrifice, and you pray on your God, and we'll see which God answers our prayers. And so all the prophets of Baal, about 700 of them, I believe it was, they were out there praying, and they were, and Elijah would say, I kind of like this, he said, y'all need to pray a little bit louder, maybe your God has gone on a trip, maybe He's asleep, and so you need to pray a little bit louder. You know, some people think that the more noise you can make, the more you can impress God. And so people try to get a lot of excitement going. Listen, my friend, God is not interested in numbers. He don't need numbers to do and accomplish His will. That's the reason why the polls are all wrong. because it's not by numbers that God works it's by his the hearts of his people and of course you know the outcome Elijah's when they're all the prophets of Baal they'd done finally they said all right it's my turn and Elijah said pour some water on it pour more water on it pour more water on it and they poured water on the sacrifice and God Elijah prayed and God came down in a manifestation of His power and fire came down from heaven and consumed not only the sacrifice but the water also. Why? because God would make it manifested that he is the almighty God and that he hears the prayers of his people this old prophet there on Mount Carmel and all the enemies prophets of Baal and he prayed and God was pleased to hear now the Word of God promises that James chapter 5 the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much that's God's promise now the Word effectual fervent really is a Greek word which means just one word and it means simply the effectual, the passionate, the energizing. Now that kind of praying is not kind of praying whereby you're just getting excited emotionally. Now I know that sometimes you pray and you weep and you cry but it's not just saying how much emotionally we get involved but it's the spirit by which we pray. God has given us a Holy Spirit 8th chapter Romans we're studying in Romans we'll get to that later on in the 8th chapter of Romans Paul will tell you that God has given us of his spirit that we can make utterances under God praying the mind of God and that's how Paul what James is talking about praying according to the will of God in submission to the will of God and she's praying Hannah was praying The prayer that God impresses on her heart and God hears her prayer. That's the kind of God we have, my friend. Back on the book of Genesis. Exodus, sorry, I'm sorry in the book of Exodus God is going to call Moses and you know all about what was going on how that they were down there in bondage and how the Egyptians were treating them terribly and God is going to call Moses to come to go down and tell Pharaoh, you know all the story about what happened there and so but he calls Moses and here's what he says to Moses in the third chapter of Exodus chapter 3 and Moreover, he said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon the Lord. And the Lord said, I have surely seen, now note that, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and note this, and I have heard their cry by reason of the taskmaster, for I know their sorrows. What an encouragement to pray! God is saying to Moses, I'm going to send you down and I'm going to bring them out because I made a promise I've made a covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am the God that keeps His promises. The other day we were traveling along the highway and I looked over there and saw a rainbow and pointed it out to my wife and she said, that's a reminder that God keeps His promises. Every time you see a rainbow, remember that's what God has put it there for. to remind us that the world would never again be destroyed by a flood, and that He keeps His promises. And God told Moses, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I keep My promise. I've heard, I've seen, and I've come down to deliver them. Did they come out? How did they come out? Oh, God gave Moses a great big army. God gave him some planes and some army, you know, and big bombs and all those sort of things. No. When they came out, they came out rich. They'd been serving slaves there in Egypt land for years and years. But when they came out of the land of Egypt, God said, you ask of the Egyptians, gold and silver. Now, when they get into the, later on, they're going to use that gold and silver. First of all, they made a golden cabinet. Some of them did, not all of them, but it's going to go into the temple later on. But they came out rich, but I'll tell you something else. When they came out, the Bible says, not a dog moved his tongue against them. Hurry! Get out! Hurry! Hurry! Get out! Why? Because God Almighty had manifested who He was. God tells us in the ninth chapter of Romans, that for this very reason had I raised up Pharaoh, that I might make my power known. And He did that. And when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, the battle was over with. Next time they see Pharaoh, the last time they see Pharaoh, I've said, he's floating face down in the Red Sea. God destroyed Pharaoh. I've heard, I've seen the affliction of my people. I love the 34th chapter of Psalms, one of my favorite verses, you know, these are just precious promises. The 34th chapter in Psalms, there's a great promise here about God hearing the cry of His people. Psalms 34, David writing here says, I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continue to be in my mouth, my soul shall make her boast in the Lord. That's who we're talking about. It's not because of what Amanda's done, it's not because of what we have done, it's not because we've got some more money, you know. Money, oh. More money was spent by the Democrats than what the Republicans had to spend. It wasn't money. More time on TV, more advertisement. They did all, they had it, the deck was stacked, so to speak. All the sports people, those Hollywood people, oh, this is our choice. I ought to be asking who God's favorite choice was. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Now here's the verse, verse 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all of my fears. Oh, that's what's happened. God's people prayed. We didn't have a big rally anywhere. There wasn't this kind of getting on television. Oh, we all got, and there may have been some that did that. But I'll tell you, what God heard was the prayers of His people praying in their closets. That's what God's promised. No wonder the Poles are all right. They went to the wrong place to take the pole. They should have been in the prayer meeting somewhere or another where God's people were praying. You see, it's God Almighty that manifested His will. Now, if it had gone the other way, it's still true. It's God Almighty. I'm not trying to make this out and say the Republicans are better than the Democrats. That's not what my point is. My point is that there was God's people praying that we would not come under the oppression of what the other party was going to bring upon us. And I prayed, Lord, be merciful to America for thine elect people's sake. That's what I was concerned about because I knew where it was headed. And I'm telling you, it's not over with yet. It's not going to be over with until the Lord comes. I sought the Lord. He heard me and delivered me out of all my fears. Verse six, I tell you, this is one of my, this is my favorite verse, I guess, maybe in Psalms. This poor man cried. I'll tell you, I qualify right there. And I've cried many, many times unto the Lord. This poor man cried and the Lord heard me. Oh, isn't that a wonderful thing? Oh. You don't know how wonderful it is, friend, when you know that God has heard you in your prayers. Hannah prayed, and the Bible says she went back home not sad anymore because she knew that God had heard her prayers. She's praying by faith, knowing God had heard her prayers. Now, I want to tell you, I don't know how long Hannah lived, but she didn't live long enough to see all that God did with Samuel. I'd like to just in your mind quickly take you back to the book of Genesis quickly and tell you, you recall Israel is in the land of bondage in Egypt land, Jacob is dying and Joseph brings his two sons to be blessed by Jacob and he brings them in such a way, now remember this, the birthright and he brings his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim Ephraim was the youngest, Manasseh was the oldest, and so by nature, naturally, the oldest child was supposed to get the birthright, and so Joseph, knowing that, and having this all arranged with his dad, he brings him, he's got the youngest son on this right hand, and he brings his oldest son Ephraim and Manasseh on his left hand and he's going to bring him up to his father who is old now who's sitting probably on the side of a bed, his deathbed, and he expects his father to extend his hands and bless them and give to the oldest son the birthright. But if you read that story, here's what happened. Jacob crossed his arms, unnatural, unusual. And his son stopped him and said, no son, dad, that's not right. He said, what I've done, I've done willingly, which means that he understood there was a divine reason why he did it. And he laid his right hand on Ephraim, which means that he got the birthright. Now, the tribe of Ephraim was a very insignificant people originally. You don't hear much about them, but they grew and became a large, one of the largest tribes in the nation of Israel. Now this is not the tribe of Judah, but it is a tribe that God blessed Ephraim. And as a result, here is Samuel, who's of the tribe of Ephraim. And Samuel became the high priest. And Samuel is the man that anointed Saul. Samuel is the man that anointed David king of Israel. And Samuel is the only man in the Bible that held the threefold office that Jesus Christ holds as being prophet, priest, and king. Now Samuel was never a king, he was a judge, which at that time he ruled as king almost. Israel said we want to have a king like all the nations around about him so I got him in trouble they got Saul but God delivered them and give them King David but my point here is Samuel was a type of Jesus Christ and he's a great prophet and he's a great ministrator of things in the nation of Israel and he became a great leader in the nation of Israel Samuel was a man that God used to bring about Israel out of a time of spiritual decline. And when Samuel was not yet high priest, Eli, his two sons who were evil, Eli who was the priest, oh, he was judged by God because he was not judging his sons. On the same day, Eli, I mean Pius and Hophni, the two boys of Eli, they both were killed in the battle by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant was taken and they came back and told Eli what had happened and Eli fell off the seat and broke his neck and died. The same day all three of them died. But God had prepared a man by the name of Samuel. take over the position of being priest in Israel, high priest in Israel, and he was a great blessing from God, and several of the books in the Bible that you have, we have today, were written to us and given to us by the pen of Samuel, holy men of God who were moved by the Holy Spirit. Now, how did God bring this about? An insignificant woman praying to God. what an encouragement it should be to know that God hears the prayers of His people. Listen, folks, I can tell you about a man by the name of Hezekiah that God had told him to set your house in order because you're going to die. And the Bible says he went to God and was praying that God would lengthen his days, and God added 15 more years to his days. God hears the prayers of his people, friends. I could tell you about the time when Sennacherib came against, well, Brother Jeff spoke about that last week, you know, about Sennacherib came up against the city of Jerusalem and he was going to destroy them. He was a great general and had a big army, but God told Hezekiah that not an arrow would come into the city. God's people prayed and God delivered them out of the hand of Zennacherib. Listen folks, it's not by might, it's not by power, it's not how great we are, but it's who God is and what God is pleased to accomplish and to do. He works and none can hinder. As I have thought it, so shall I bring it to pass. He declares the end from the beginning. He is the great God of our salvation. and he has purpose to redeem his people and bring them unto eternal glory, it's not because of who we are, it's not because we're greater in number, not because we're worthy, that's what grace is all about. Grace, God's grace, amazing grace. God has purpose to bring about the salvation of his people, not because we're worthy of it, but rather because he purposed to set his love upon us that we might enjoy eternal glory with his son, Jesus Christ. Unto him be the glory and the might, for thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive our worship and praise. This religious worship type service, my friend, where people do things to exalt themselves, that's not of God. But my friend, the kind of worship that God accepts and is pleasing to Him is when God's people come with a humble heart before the Lord, and they acknowledge that we are not worthy, O Lord, but Thou art worthy, and we are helpless apart from Your help, and we cannot do anything. We need You, Lord, and when we come in that way, God is pleased to be with us and to hear our prayers and grant to us our petitions. it's not a time where it's a way it's a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for what God has done but I want to tell you it's not a time to quit praying no Lord of God tells us that we are to pray for those who are in authority over us that we might live a peaceful and quiet life Pray for all the officers. Pray for the people who hold the local office in the city here in Columbus, Starkville, all around about us. Pray for those who are governors of our states. Pray for those who are representatives. Pray for those who are senators. I pray for all because, my friend, it is by the hand of Almighty God that they rule. And God can put them up and God can take them down. many men have learned that Daniel I mean Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel learned that he was a great king great Babylon first worldwide Empire he's walking in the garden where he sees that great garden that he had made one of the seven wonders of the world hanging gardens of Babylon look what I've done look what I've accomplished oh It bothers me when I hear people talk about, look, we're the strongest nation in the world. We're the richest nation in the world. My friend, we're only what we are by the grace of God. We are only what we are by God's grace. God, my friend, can withdraw his blessings upon us and we become people who are destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar said, look what I've done. Well, you know what God did to him? God drove him out in the wilderness and gave him a mind to act like a wild beast. Seven months or seven years. I don't know exactly what those words mean there, but seven seasons passed over him until God gave him a right mind. That's what God has to do to us, friends. The fool, book of Proverbs talks about the fool. Who's the fool? There's no fear of God in their heart. We're sufficient. We can do it. We can do it by our strength. We're rich. We're powerful. My friend, God almighty can turn things. The revolutionary war, we fought against a government that is much richer, more powerful than what we were, but God was pleased to give our army victory over the British army. It was not because we were greater. All the wars that we've ever fought, we should have lost them from the human aspect of them, but God gave us victory. So it is, my friend, it's God who hears the prayers of his people. A woman, insignificant woman, insignificant from human aspect, scorned, ridiculed. She prayed. God raised up Samuel. We need more Samuels. We need more preachers. We need God to raise up more Samuels in our world today, in our country. How are we going to get them? Well, we've got to get them the right education. No, it's not the education that they need. It's the heart right with God, by the Holy Spirit of God. Pray for your children, parents. Pray for our grandchildren. Oh, pray for your grandchildren. God will touch their hearts. The only hope of our country, my friend, is in God Almighty. It's not in our military power. It's not in our political government, regardless of who it is, Democrat or Republican. They are under the hand of Almighty God. I pray that God would be pleased to put people in office and give them a mind and a heart to seek their counsel. God hears the prayers of His people. if we've not heard seen anything at all it's this election I hope has impressed on us that God hears the prayers of his people and he answers those prayers that God might make known to us that he rules and reigns in the affairs of people God rules not only in the affairs of people, my friends, but he rules in the powers that be, the wicked powers. There's a song that I like to sing. This is my father's world. The last stanza of that song, the stanza says something like this. It says, God is, though evil be so strong, God is the ruler, it. I'm paraphrasing, not exact word, but that's what it says close to it. We see the evil all around about us. It's a discouraging thing. Overwhelming thing. They control the airways. They control the minds of our young people in colleges. They control sometimes their politicians. It seems like that we as God's people are against the stacked deck, and we are from the human aspect. Paul will tell you in Ephesians chapter 6, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of the air, spiritual darkness, the wickedness that rules and reigns in the hearts of the unregenerate. Were it not for God's grace, we would be numbered among them. We would be among that crowd were it not for God's sovereign grace. But because God has been pleased to set his love upon us before the foundation of the world and to save us by his grace, regenerate us by his Holy Spirit, he's been pleased to give us a heart and a mind that we understand that God rules. I know that that's a foolish thought. I know that the world ridicules and laughs at that. but we believe that God eternal God rules and reigns in the affairs of what goes on in time. He worketh all things, the Bible says, at the counsel of His own will. It's not what Congress decides, it's not what the United Nations decides, it's what God has already predetermined, my friends. We don't understand all that, but we believe it by faith because we know Him. We know Him as our Father, our Heavenly Father. Our Lord taught us to pray this way. Very first characteristic of a prayer. Here's how we're to pray. Our Father, which art in heaven. What a precious thing it is to be able to say, my Father, our Father. Oh, to know Heavenly Father. to know that by God's grace, because of Christ's death for us, we have Jesus Christ as our great high priest, and we have God, the eternal God, as our heavenly father. Oh, world life is full of a lot of troubles. Just on the news last night, I saw a world Outstanding ball player, some high school, some college here in Mississippi was killed, two of them, two young men killed in a car wreck. Sad. I had to conduct a funeral similarly brought to my mind years ago back in North Carolina. I conducted the funeral for a young man who was a member of our church, teenage boy, good boy. He was involved in a car wreck. Sad. Killed at the age of just about 18. Life is full of trouble, sorrows. But I'll tell you where there is peace, where there's comfort, where there's rest, it's in God Almighty. No matter what happens, no matter how bad the storms come, no matter how terrible they are in life, There is a rock that holds God's people fast. It's the eternal hand of God. And we are in his hand. And he tells us in John the 10th chapter, I give unto them eternal life and no one can pluck them out of my hand. I am my father. We are one. Almighty God, my friends, holds God's people fast. No matter if it's the fiery furnace, no matter if it's the lion's den, no matter where it is that we must, what we must face, God will keep his people and he hears our prayers when we cry unto him. And may the Lord bless us that we would learn to lean upon the arms of Jesus. what a fellowship, what a joy divine, to lean upon the precious arms of Jesus Christ who loved us and died for us. Casting all your care, Peter says, upon Him. Why? Because He careth for you. Who's Hannah? Who in the world is Hannah? She is just a woman who took her burden to the Lord and God heard her prayer and gave her a son, Samuel. Who is God today? It's the same God. He hasn't changed. He's the same God. whatever your burden is, whatever your need is, regardless of what your sin situation is, there is redemption, there is forgiveness, there is mercy and grace with the almighty God. And he works for the good of his people. Not always for the physical good, but for the spiritual good of his people so that we would know that he loves us and that we're the object of his grace and mercy. Our Father, we come to you today. Oh, how thankful we are that we can call upon you as our Heavenly Father. You've given to us the Holy Spirit, whereby you've blessed us to know that you loved us with an everlasting love. And your promises are true and sure, and we're thankful, dear Lord, that you've manifested your love toward your people and the hearing of their prayers in the events of this past week. We pray for our government, Lord. They are but mortal people. They are mortal beings. They are weak. We are ignorant, but you're the mighty God and you can work. And we pray for our government and all who are in our office over authority over us, that you would give them a heart and a mind to seek your wisdom and your counsel. Our country would be led in the right way. May your mercy be upon our nation, not because of our goodness, but because Lord, you would be gracious to your people. For Christ Jesus' sake I pray and ask it. Amen. Amen.