1Sa 1:1-20. Tony van Drimmelen. Prayer changes us. It is a means God uses to give us a heart-felt connection with Him. In preparation for our prayer time together we consider Hannah before she prayed and then after -- but before God answered her prayer. When she left the place of prayer God turned her bitter pain and distress into a “face that was no longer downcast” (v.18). Without an answer to her prayer, how could she leave to return home and yet have peace and confidence in God? We pray to this same God. A heart-felt connection with Him means we can pour out our soul (v.15) because "He is able to sympathize with us in all our weaknesses." His sympathy for us is never better understood than when we know Jesus!
