In 1 Samuel 1 we truly touch the spirit of worship. Remember that Hannah did not have any children. Her husband had two wives. The other wife had children, but Hannah was barren and suffered much for it. Therefore, she begged the Lord for a child, and her request was granted. As soon as the child was weaned, she brought him to the temple in Shiloh and said, "It was for this child that I prayed, and Jehovah has granted me my request that I requested from Him. Therefore I, for my part, have lent him to Jehovah; all the days that he lives, he is lent to Jehovah" (vv. 27-28). Do we see these two phrases? They are exceedingly precious to me. Read them together. "Jehovah has granted me...I, for my part, have lent him to Jehovah." Jehovah gave the child to her, and she gave the child back to Him. No answer to prayer surpasses this one. The sum total of her request before God was this child. She had suffered for a lifetime. Her constant hope was to have this child, but what did she say in the end? "What You have given me, I will give to You; I will give You the portion You have given me." O brothers and sisters, of such a person it can be truly written that she "worshipped Jehovah." Hannah worshipped God in this instance. Only the person who wants God Himself, rather than His gift, can worship Him worthily. Hannah showed us what was supremely precious to her—not the gift of God, not the fact He was willing to hear her prayer, not even Samuel whom He gave, but God's way in giving Samuel to her.
God gave her Samuel, so she gave Samuel to God. When Samuel passed out of her hands, worship came forth. Please remember that no one who is not consecrated can worship God. I think that some among us understand this matter. The day in which we give everything to God, including our "Samuel," will be the day in which we begin to learn how to worship. The day in which we see the altar is the day in which we learn to worship.
I can never forget Abraham. Lately, we have referred to him frequently, but I cannot refrain from mentioning him again. I never cease to be impressed by the preciousness of his remark to his servants in Genesis 22. When he was about to ascend the mountain with Isaac, he said to his servants, "I and the lad will go yonder and worship" (v. 5). He did not say to sacrifice or make an offering, but to worship. It was not sacrifice but worship. His worship was to offer Isaac up to God. It was good for God to do things in this way, and he worshipped Him. O brothers and sisters, I do not believe that anyone who has not really consecrated his all can truly worship God. If we do not have this kind of consecration, we will be unable to worship even if we try. But when the day comes, as it came for Hannah, that our "Samuel," in whom all our hopes are centered, passes out of our hands into God's hands, then worship will flow out to God with him. Hannah knew the ways of God. Since God had given her a son, she gave him to God, not just once, but for all the days of his life. She worshipped God in this position.
Worship always follows the cross and the altar. Wherever there is the cross, the altar, consecration, and obedience to the ways of God, there is worship. Wherever one gives up working for one's self or holding on to something for one's self, there is worship. Worship is saying that we are not the center. The meaning of worship is that God is the center. The meaning of worship is that I step aside and give all the space to God. It is necessary for "Samuel" to pass out of our hands.
The ways of God do not always correspond to what we have prayed for. The reverse is often true. The ways of God do not always mean prosperity for us; not infrequently they bring adversity. What should our attitude be toward these ways of God? Recall the record of David's sin in 2 Samuel 12. Bathsheba became pregnant and bore a son. God sent the prophet Nathan with the message that the child would surely die. David had sinned, but he loved his son even though the child was the fruit of his sin. David, like all fathers, loved his child. What did he do? He prayed ceaselessly before God, hoping that God would heal the child. But God said, "Because you have given the enemies of Jehovah much occasion to blaspheme Him because of this thing, the son who is born to you shall also surely die" (v. 14). You all know that David knew how to pray. We can see how well David prayed in the Psalms. David not only prayed but also fasted. All night long he lay prostrate on the ground praying fervently. In the end, however, the child died.
Anyone who is not consecrated, who does not know God, who is not truly in subjection to God, after praying so well and so fervently with fasting, lying prostrate on the ground all night, surely would charge God with harshness when such a request was not granted. Many would say that God is too strict and would never worship Him again. They would stop going to the bread-breaking meeting. They would stop petitioning God and praying to Him. Oh, many people have controversy with God when their ways are not His ways. They fight and argue with God. They ask God why He did such a thing to them. Many people do not submit to God's ways. They say, "I cannot accept the fact that You have touched me in this way." They may not speak this aloud, but they disagree in their hearts and feel that God is too harsh.