Steven Furtick - Praying With a Broken Heart
This is an excerpt from: All Those Times You Didn’t See
You may be praying for a certain thing you need God to do in your body. You may be praying about a mental illness. You may be praying about a way that you want God to give you clarity. It’s been kind of foggy. So, I need you to put yourself in the situation of Hannah today and not just think about, «If I have a kid or if I don’t have a kid». This represents all of those things in our hearts that we carry with us where there is an empty space, but we keep going to the house of God anyway. What blessed me about Hannah is what blessed me about Samuel. Let me explain. If you fast-forward to the time we read about in 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verses 1-11, Samuel is a boy now, not a baby, so eventually, God gives Hannah what she asked for, a baby, but she had to take the baby back to the temple and dedicate him to the Lord, because that’s what she vowed she would do. «If God gives me a boy, I’ll give him to you, Lord. I’ll let him serve you».
So, after she had weaned him, she took him and put him there in Eli’s temple, which she knew was corrupt, but she had no other choice. She had to trust God that «God is going to take care of this even though I can’t». She had to trust God that «I’m sending my kid to this crazy school, and I know what goes on there, but I know the God who goes before my kid that I’m sending to this school». In giving her child to God, it meant she spent almost every day of her life away from this boy. Now, God ended up giving her five other children, because you will never outgive God. You will never outgive God. You will never outgive God. You’re whining and crying about that little $20 you loaned your friend this week. You didn’t loan it to them; you loaned it to the Lord, and the Lord will pay back with interest those he can trust with his substance.
Every year, she would go to see Samuel, her boy who she gave to God. She would bring with her a little ephod, which was what the priest would wear, a little linen ephod that she had made custom for him. She’d have to kind of guess how big it should be because she hadn’t seen him for a year. So, if you were to see Hannah going to the temple at this point in her life, you would see a proud mother. «Mother of a future prophet» her bumper sticker would have said. You would have seen her with her little ephod that she had made for him. «Oh, he’s growing up so much. Here’s the new ephod». You would have seen her going to the temple and sacrificing and being blessed and seeing her boy. But what about all those times you didn’t see when Hannah went to the temple year after year after year with her rival in one ear and God in the other and her rival saying, «Why do you keep serving a God who won’t even bless you with a baby? Look at how blessed I am».
Now, I know people don’t say that to us directly, but don’t they make us feel that way sometimes? And yet she went. Notice what it says in verse 7. This is the real verse I want to preach about. It says that Hannah… You’re like, «You said you were preaching about Samuel». I can’t preach about Samuel without preaching about Hannah, because I think what Samuel did was based on something Hannah did that he never even saw. Before he was even born, his mom would go to the temple year after year. «As often as she went up…» (Circle went up.) «As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her». Stop and let’s break this down. Back to the top of the verse. It went on (circle went on) year by year.
«As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, [her rival] used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept…» (Circle wept.) Here’s my whole message in a sentence: she wept, but she went up anyway. Listen to me. This might be the word to snatch you out of despondency. This might be the word to shake you out of lethargy. Hannah wept, but she went up. God did not silence her enemy, but she went up anyway. God did not give her her prayer request, but she went up anyway. And she went up weeping. She went up, and while she would go up she would weep, and when she would get there she would weep, but it went on year after year, and she went up. So, I see a picture in this text of a woman who was willing to keep coming back.
«Even if I don’t see the thing I ask God for, I’m going back, not by sight but by faith». I see a picture of every person who is in this church right now feeling unrecognized, feeling insignificant, feeling like life is not cutting grass, and you are sowing seed, and you are not seeing anything right now. I want to remind you that you can go up weeping. You can go up hurting. You can go up confused. You can go back. Samuel heard the voice of God and thought it was the voice of Eli. He went to Eli, but God said, «Wrong guy. Go back». Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. You can have all your fancy definitions of faith that you want, but I think sometimes real faith is just as simple as «Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back».
You go back and do it again. You go back and love them again. You go back and serve again. You go back and drop it again. You go back and pray again. You go back and thank him again. You go back, and you go back, and you go back, and you go back. Are y’all getting the point? Samuel learned how to do this through something a woman did that he never even witnessed. Her persistence led to his purpose. The only reason he had it in him to go back to Eli, no matter how many times it took… «I heard you call. I’m coming back». «Go back and lie down». «I’m coming again». «Go back and lie down».
Where did he get the persistence to keep coming back like that? Because he had a mom. Because he came from a womb that was barren. Every time she tried to have a baby, she couldn’t. Every time she tried to conceive, she couldn’t. But she kept crying out to God, and she cried until she conceived. She came back until she conceived. She prayed until she conceived. I am preaching to somebody today who has become convinced that God is not with you. The Devil is a liar, because that same woman who left the temple all those years with an empty womb came back one day carrying a priest’s robe. If you’ll go back enough times… All those times you didn’t see, when she went back and prayed anyway, when she went back and sacrificed anyway, when you showed up at work and smiled at hateful people anyway. Go back smiling, and you shall come home rejoicing.
Touch seven people and say, «Go back». As many times as you’ve got to do it, go back. Pick up your Bible again. Go back. I know the Bible was dry the last time you read it, but there shall be showers of blessing upon you in due season. Go back! Isn’t that amazing, Holly? She stayed there, and she prayed. Give them verse 15. Verse 15 is so anointed, we’ve got to go to verse 12 to get to 15. Give them verse 12. Verse 12 says that when Hannah was there praying, she continued praying before the Lord. She continued praying before the Lord. She continued praying before the Lord. Did God not hear her the first time? No, God heard her the first time. God just understands something called due time. Due time.
Everybody say, «Due time». Not D-O time…D-U-E time. Due time. It means God knows when Samuel needs to show up. God knows when her womb needs to open. God knew how to give her an enemy to keep her praying. God knows when it needs to happen. God knows when to start the wheel turning. God knows when to fill you back up again. God knows when they need to say «No, » when they need to say, «Yes, » knows when to shut a door, knows when to open a window, knows when to tear off a ceiling. God knows! It’s almost like Hannah read Galatians 6:9. Galatians 6:9 says, «And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season…» What season? Due season. What season? Due season.
Now high-five three people and say, «I’m doing good». I’m doing good. Put it in the chat. «I’m doing good. I’m doing good. I’m doing good. I’m doing good». «Yeah, but you don’t have your baby yet». «I’m doing good. I’m doing good». «Why»? «The Bible told me in Galatians 6:9, 'Let us not grow weary of doing good.' So, I’m not feeling good, but I’m doing good. It doesn’t look good, but I’m doing good. I can’t see the grass going down right now. I can’t see the money coming up right now. I can’t see the season changing, but there is a due season, and I know what to do. I know what to do. I’m going to do good. I’m going to praise his name. I’m going to worship him right here. I’m going to pray like I believe the answer is already in the temple, lying on the bed. He heard me. He hears me».
Shake your neighbor and say, «I’m doing good». I’m doing good till due season. I’m going to sow till I see some grass. I’m going to cut it down and let it grow back. The word of the Lord will not fade. The grass fades, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever and ever. Somebody shout, «Forever»! For our light and momentary afflictions are producing in us a far exceeding weight of glory. That’s amazing. That’s amazing. All those times you didn’t see. I see Hannah coming with her ephod again for her baby. It was all those times you didn’t see her coming with no baby clothes that made her produce a son whose words would come to Israel. They heard his words because he heard God’s words because God heard her words.
And you’re telling me your life doesn’t matter? You’re telling me you’re thinking about killing yourself? You’re telling me you almost thought about not coming to church today? The Lord can speak to you, and you can say, «Speak, Lord. Your servant hears». You can’t hear if you’re not here. That’s why I keep coming. I don’t know if I showed you, but his mom did something before he was born that was instilled in him even though she wasn’t the one raising him. And he came back to Eli. «What did you say»? «It wasn’t me». «Okay. I guess I’ll try that again». I think sometimes we make it too complicated. Sometimes all God wants to say to you is «Let’s try this again. Let’s try this again, you dummy. Let’s try this again». (That’s the Lord’s nickname for me.) It’s all those times you didn’t see.
I think it’s amazing that Hannah was able to leave her son with the Lord, don’t you? A little boarding school action never hurt a kid. But I think what’s even more amazing than the fact that she vowed and gave him to the Lord when God gave her a baby… I think what’s even more amazing than what she did when God gave her a baby is what she did when God didn’t. I think sometimes the greatest faith in your life is that you come back from temptation when God doesn’t take the temptation away but gives you the grace to stand up under it. I think it’s when you pray for God to send you the relationship and he doesn’t and you press into him that much deeper. I think it’s when you ask God to change the other person’s behavior and he doesn’t, so you change your approach.
I think it’s when you ask God to take the strain off of you and he doesn’t, so he puts the strength in you. I think what Hannah did was amazing, that she gave her baby to the Lord when he was born. I think it’s even more amazing that she kept going while waiting on God. I’m done preaching. You can stand to your feet, because the Lord had a word for somebody today. How many of you have had times in your life where you’ve seen God do something amazing for you? You praised him for those times, and you should, but I also want you to learn how to praise him for all the times you didn’t see. That he was doing… Mm, I can’t get off of it. …doing something for a due season. The important thing would be… Look.
When God finally spoke to Samuel in 1 Samuel, chapter 3, verse 10, he said, «Speak. I hear you, God». And verse 11 says, «The Lord said to Samuel, 'Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone [in Israel] will tingle.'» It would be a devastating thing. Eli and his two sons would both die in the heat of battle so God could raise up another, because God’s transitions are not always pretty. But in the process of verse 11, he says, «Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel that will make everybody’s spine tingle, ears tingle, two ears tingle». This is going to be so big. God is going to do something, but if Samuel had been born at any other time, he could not have been the one God used to bring the change about.
So, every year that Hannah went to worship that she thought God was ignoring her, God was not ignoring her; God was positioning her to bring forth from her womb what the nation needed. Sometimes it’s not about what we want; it’s about due time. What God does is his business. What I do until he does is worship. Tiff, come, please. I just saw this while I was preparing today. Right now, in this moment, she can lead you in worship spontaneously without any lyrics on the screen, without any planning. I did not tell her I would call her. I did not prepare her I would call her. I didn’t do any of that, but I just called her. «Tiff, Tiff». I didn’t even have to call her twice. She just came.
Right now, with your hands lifted in worship, lead them for one minute, just one minute in worship, whatever flows from your heart. Just do it right now. Come on. Clap your hands and thank God. So let me tell you. Why can she do that? Because she did that. She did that since she was a little girl. Her dad is a pastor and an amazing man. I met him. When I met her mom and dad, I was like, «I get it. I get why you’re awesome». But then they told me stories how she used to be in the church alone, hours and hours and hours, pounding four chords on a piano, just singing till God came. Somebody said to me the other day… They said, «When Tiff sings, God comes».
And I knew what they meant. That sounds bad if you just take it out of context, because God is always here, but I knew what they meant. What I loved about it and why I called you out here is I want all of them to get a picture of their life, to realize that it is what you did until this season that made you able to do what I just called you to do in this moment. So, it’s wonderful. It’s a great picture, because you’re doing things right now that seem insignificant. You feel all alone right now. You feel like it doesn’t matter right now. You cut the grass, and it grows back higher, and you go, «God, why am I even bothering»?
But remember there is a due season. What God does is his business, and what you do until he does is worship. So, when God calls you… When God called Samuel, he was ready, because he had ministered to the Lord. Maybe God has you in a season of your life where you’re ministering to him.
It’s not about people appreciating you. It’s not about people acknowledging you. It’s not about comparing yourself to other people. It’s not about your rival in your ear telling you how you should be farther along. It’s not about your insecurity. It is about what you are doing until due season. They shall walk and not get weary. They shall walk and not faint. That’s what happens when you wait on the Lord. It’s because she did it in a church alone that she can do it in this room today. I’m trying to say God is preparing you. God is preparing you. Would you hug three people and tell them, «Wait on the Lord»? Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Do not grow weary in well doing. You shall receive in due season.