In his sermon titled 'The Mystery of Providence,' Mike Davenport explores the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel, focusing on the themes of divine providence and faith. The narrative begins with Elkanah and his two wives, Hannah and Penina, highlighting Hannah's barrenness and her rival Penina's provocation. Despite her sorrow, Hannah prays fervently to God, vowing to dedicate her son to the Lord if He grants her a child. The sermon emphasizes that God's providence is often a mystery, working in ways beyond human understanding. Davenport underscores the transition from the time of Judges to the Kings in Israel's history, explaining how God uses adversity, like Hannah's barrenness, to drive His people towards prayer and reliance on Him. The sermon concludes with a message of hope and encouragement, illustrating that God's power often begins where human strength ends. It encourages believers to trust in God's plan and find solace in prayer, even amid trials.

So, with your Bibles open to 1 Samuel, follow along as I read the Holy Word of God. The Holy Word of God. Now there was a certain man of Ramatheim Zophim of the mountains of Ephraim and his name was Elkanah the son of Jerahim the son of Elihu the son of Tohu the son of Zoph and Ephraimite and he had two wives The name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Penina. Penina had children, but Hannah had no children. This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.

Also the two sons of Eli, Haphni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord were there. And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering he would give portions to Penina his wife and to all her sons and daughters but to Hannah he would give a double portion for he loved Hannah although the Lord had closed her womb so it was year by year when she went up to the house of the Lord that she that is Panina provoked her therefore she Hannah wept and did not eat then Elkenna her husband said to her Hannah why do you weep why do you not eat and why is your heart grieved Am I not better to you than 10 sons? So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking and Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then She made a vow and said, Oh, Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, Then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon his head And it happened as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli watched her mouth Now Hannah spoke in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard therefore Eli thought she was drunk so Eli said to her how long will you be drunk put your wine away from you but Hannah answered and said no my Lord I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.

I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now Then Eli answered and said go in peace and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of him and she said let your maid servant find favor in your sight so the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord and returned and came to their house at Rama. Let us pray. Oh Lord we thank you for this portion of your holy word. It's inspired, it's breathed out by you, And Lord we ask that in it we would get a better glimpse of you, that we would understand you more and then understanding you more that we might understand ourselves more as well but Lord at first starts with you for only then can our thoughts be a right so help us by your spirit in Christ's holy name we pray Amen.

Well, you may be seated. Well, this book of 1 Samuel, it's a transition book bringing to a close the time of the judges and ushering in the time of the kings. And the placement of this book of 1 Samuel, that is where it's placed among the 66 books, is no doubt due to how it corresponds even to the previous two books, Judges and Ruth. You see, the book of Judges describes a time in Israel's history after the leadership of men like Moses and Joshua, a time where God raised up judges to redeem Israel from the hands of their enemies, enemies that were brought on to God's people because of their disobedience to him. And that book of judges ends with this sad conclusion of those times.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Well Samuel, the one for whom our book is named, is the last of those judges that God raised up for Israel. The next book, the Book of Ruth, also fits into the time of the judges. The book sets the stage for its story with the opening verses informing us, now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land.

The Book of Ruth, however, ends in a different fashion than how the Book of Judges ends. The book of Ruth closes with the story of a kinsman redeemer who rescues a Midianite woman who has embraced the God of the nation of Israel. It closes with a happy home and with a blessed birth. We read in chapter 4 and verse 1, so Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and when he went into her the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. Note those words, The Lord gave her conception.

You see God had a purpose and that purpose is revealed as the book draws to a close and they called the child's name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Boaz begot Obed, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. You see, here is the introduction of a character that will prove instrumental in the book before us. So the close of that last chapter of Ruth, a happy home and a fruitful womb, it stands in such stark contrast to the opening of the chapter before us.

But the thing we must note as we begin with this first chapter of 1st Samuel is that God is at work from the very beginning of the narrative. God doesn't start working because Hannah prayed. God's already at work. In fact, God was working to bring her to the point of that special prayer in Shiloh. Hannah's hopelessness and helplessness was the canvas upon which the glorious colors of the brush strokes of God's providence was to be magnified and glorified in a marvelous display.

The title of this message is the mystery of providence, the mystery of providence, for indeed God's Providence is often a mystery to us and I would like for us to consider the text before us under the following three headings first a reason to weep. A reason to weep. Second, a reason to pray. A reason to pray. And then thirdly and finally, a reason to rejoice.

A reason to rejoice. So first, a reason to weep. Although as we stated this book is about the life of a nation as it enters into a kingdom life with a king, Yet the narrative of this kingdom of God just it doesn't begin in the palace. In fact it doesn't even start with government and politics. The narrative begins in a home.

It begins in a home. Verses 1 and 2. Now there was a certain man of Ramathaiim Zophim of the mountains of Ephraim and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jerahim, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zoph, the Ephraimite. And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah and the name of the other Panina.

Panina had children but Hannah had no children. So we are introduced to this man named Elkanah. He was an Ephraimite as well as a Levite, though not of the Aaronic line. In fact, in 1st Chronicles 631 and following, we can trace the genealogy of his family all the way back to Kohath the son of Levi Now we read of this man Elkenna that he was a polygamist he had two wives Now remembering that this is the time of the judges, we can't help but point back to the synopsis of the times that every man did what was right in his own eyes. And we see such examples of polygamy among quite a few men in the Old Covenant, but prevalence does not dictate principle.

And finding such a thing as polygamy even among the godliest characters of the old covenant can never be used as a means to justify it. When we read the scriptures, in fact when we read anything in history, when we read of characters in those narratives, we must understand them as men and women of their time. That doesn't mean that they get a free pass. It doesn't mean that we polish over their errors or look the other way, but we must not judge them according to the standard that has come to bear upon us in our age, in our time, in light of the fullness of the scriptures that we've been given. So we are told that one of Elkenna's wives, Penina, had children but his other wife Hannah had none.

Well having been given something of the background and family we find a little more about Elkenna in the next verse. Verse 3, this man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord were there. Now it would seem from this verse that this man was a godly man in spite of his shortcomings and sins. As a Levite this man performed his duty frequently, That is with the frequency required by the law, yearly.

He went up yearly. He also performed his duties fully. That is, he came to do what God had required of him, to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts. But not only did he perform his duty fully and frequently, he also performed his duty faithfully. That is, he did it according to the command of God.

He went up from his city to Shiloh, the prescribed place of God's worship according to the command of God at this time. Matthew Henry notes, if the devotions of a family prevail not to put an end to its divisions, yet let not the divisions put a stop to the devotions. Now the last portion of this verse draws our attention to the two sons of Eli, Haphne and Phineas, who also served, we read, as priests of the Lord there in Shiloh. Now we shall learn more about these two men in upcoming chapters, but suffice it to say, these were wicked men. And I believe they are introduced here in this portion of the narrative in order to emphasize the contrast between them, between Elkanah who was faithful in all of his duties to God in spite of the fact that the sons of the high priest were unfaithful.

You see how often, how far too easily do professed believers in our day abandon, they walk away from their God-given duty under the excuse of the shortcomings of ministers and or other congregants and often for reasons that in no way come close to the wickedness of these two brothers. Dear ones, our duty to God is our duty to God. It cannot be left undone We cannot always argue providence when God's Word is demanding principle if Elkina can perform his God-given duty under these circumstances, then why cannot we? Well, part of the festivities included with this yearly sacrifice was joyous feasting, And so we read in verses 4 through 8 here, and whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering he would give portions to Panina his wife and to all her sons and daughters, but to Hannah he would give a double portion for he loved Hannah although the Lord had closed her womb and her rival also provoked her severely to make her miserable because the Lord had closed her womb So it was year by year when she went up to the house of the Lord that Panina provoked her. Therefore she wept and did not eat.

Then Elkenna, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? Now the scriptures make it clear that Elkanah loved his wife Hannah.

He truly loved her. And much like Jacob's gift of a multicolored coat to his son Joseph, Elkanah's gifts and attention to Hannah in the midst of her circumstances, it showed great love, yet also some level of a lack of discernment. You see, there was greater favor shown to one wife, most likely in an attempt to offset the sorrow and burden that Hannah was carrying. To let her know that he did not love her less because of her barrenness. Yet sometimes in our efforts to make things better, we actually make things worse.

Sometimes we add unintended affliction to an already afflicted soul. You see, Hannah had what the new King James version here renders a rival. She had a rival. The King James version renders the Hebrew word as adversary, which I think carries more of the underlying meaning. This is more or less a feminine form of the root word which actually means adversary, foe, enemy, oppressor.

So you might say that Penina was to Hannah the female version of what Haman was to Mordecai and what Sanballat and Tobiah were to Nehemiah. Penina, we read, provoked Hannah severely and she did it with the stated purpose to make her miserable and the source of this provocation was Hannah's barrenness. Now our culture would not be able to enter in with empathy into this state of Hannah, But I know you dear godly women in our midst to have embraced true biblical femininity and godly motherhood that you can empathize with the deep sorrow that Hannah would have been enduring in regard to this barrenness. Now we cannot overlook what God clearly states with openness. God draws back the curtains of the mysteriousness of divine providence and states without reservation that it was he the Lord that had closed Hannah's womb.

Her barrenness it was not some random thing. This barrenness was attributed to nothing other than the fact that it was simply the mind and will of Almighty God that she be childless up to this very point in her life. Dear brother and sister, do you chafe at the work of Providence in your life? Do you chafe against it? Do you feel that that you are deserving of better things than what you are currently receiving from the hand of Providence.

19th century Scottish Presbyterian minister William Blakey in his commentary points out this quote, inside Elkanah's house we see two strange arrangements of providence of a kind that that often moves our astonishment elsewhere. First we see a woman eminently fitted to bring up children, but having none to bring up. On the other hand, we see another woman whose temper and ways are fitted to ruin children entrusted with the rearing of a family. In the one case a God-fearing woman does not receive the gifts of Providence, in the other case a woman of a selfish and cruel nature seems loaded with his benefits. In looking around us we often see a similar arrangement of other gifts.

We see riches, for example, in the very worst of hands, while those who from their principles and character are fitted to make the best use of them have often difficulty in securing the bare necessities of life. How is this? Does God really govern or do time and chance regulate all if it were God's purpose to distribute his gifts exactly as men are able to estimate and use them are right We should doubtless see a very different distribution. But God's aim in this world is much more to try and to train than to reward and fulfill." End quote. Well, on this particular occasion, we read that the misery had reached such a point in the spirit of Hannah that she refused to eat.

She gave herself only to weeping and good old Elkanah. Rather than simply sharing in her tears, He seeks to cheer her up by reminding her of how blessed she is to have such a wonderful husband. Why isn't being married to me better than having 10 sons? Well, the circumstances of this poor woman gave her a reason to weep. It gave her a reason to weep.

But consider with me secondly that Hannah also had a reason to pray. A reason to pray. Verses 9 through 16. So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.

She was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept and anguish. Then she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maidservant but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon his head." And it happened as she continued praying before the Lord that that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

So Eli said to her, How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you. But Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not Consider your maid servant a wicked woman for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief.

I have spoken until now Dear ones Hannah's reason to weep It was the reality It was the catalyst that gave her this reason to pray. Note the words in the text, and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. She found no peace. She found no comfort in the house where she was. So she sought that peace and comfort in the house of the Lord.

Her circumstances did not ground her prayer, rather it gave wings to her prayer. Brothers and sisters, have we not found this to be the case in our own lives? Are not seasons of prosperity and peace often marked by a decrease or by an absence of real meaningful prayer how is it with you do your trials and afflictions Do they drive you to that throne of grace that is opened? Or do they drive you away from that throne of grace? Do your trials and afflictions, do they hasten your steps to the house of the Lord.

They hastened hers. She didn't linger. As soon as the feasting was over, she went to the house of the Lord. William Blakely, Blakey states, William Blakely, Blakey states, however it came about, her trials had the happy effect of sending her to God. Blessed fruit of affliction!

Is not this the reason why afflictions are often so severe? If they were of ordinary intensity, then in the world's phrase, we might grin and bear them. It is when they become intolerable that men think of God. As Archbishop Layton has said, God closes up the way to every broken cistern one after another that he may induce you baffled everywhere else to take the way to the fountain of living waters." End quote. Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ, through Him, we have been granted an entrance into the presence of our Father in heaven.

Jesus taught us to pray to Him who is our Father. Scripture gives us freedom to bring all of our humanity and everything wrapped up with that humanity before the throne of grace. Christ did it in the garden. And so can we. So can we.

As Dale Ralph Davis states in his commentary, many Christians need to realize that Yahweh, our God, allows us to do this, to pour our griefs and sobs and perplexities at His feet. Our Lord can handle our tears. It won't make Him nervous or ill at ease if you unload your distress at his feet." End quote. And so with boldness, with boldness, Hannah prays. And in the midst of her request, she makes a vow.

She prayed, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maid servant but will give your maid servant a male child then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon his head." Dear ones, it's not a rash vow. It's not rash. It's not a careless one. And as we shall see later in this chapter, she did not forget the vow that she made. We do well to remember the exhortation of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5, 1 through 5.

Walk prudently when you go to the house of God and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools for they do not know that they do evil do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God for God is in heaven goes back to our what I prayed earlier about our our mind our thoughts of God are so narrowed as our God is in heaven and you are on earth therefore let your words be few When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?

Now note that the prayer was made to the Lord of hosts, the Lord of hosts. It's the very name that Luther uses in his song, A Mighty Fortress is our God, Lord Sabaoth, Lord of hosts. That particular name has not yet appeared in Scripture. In all the books that precede 1 Samuel, that name the Lord of Hosts has not appeared. It appeared first in verse 3, that Elkanah came to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh, but this is the first time that it's breathed out in prayer that that's recorded for us.

But having burst on the scene here in this opening chapter of 1st Samuel, the name the Lord of hosts is used frequently in the remainder of Old Testament scripture, especially the prophets. For example, the book of Isaiah uses that name the Lord of hosts over 50 times. Jeremiah over 70 times. And then you take the last three minor prophets in Old Testament scriptures, it's used a combined over 90 times. Three books.

Well we shall see later in chapter two the theological framework that Hannah is working from that leads her to address God as the Lord of hosts, Lord Sabeoth. But before we leave this point, we need to note the response of Eli. He sees Hannah's body posture evidencing the heaviness of spirit. He sees her lips moving, but he doesn't hear anything coming audibly from her mouth. And rather than engaging her, he assumes, he assumes, and he ascertains, he thinks the situation, and he makes a bold assumption.

How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you. Now we should stop and consider ourselves at this point. First looking at ourselves through the lens of Eli. How often have we been like Eli, jumping to conclusions about someone or their circumstances?

It's so easy to prejudge someone. It's so easy to think that we've come to the only logical conclusion just from observation. And as we see here, it's also possible for spiritual leaders in the church to make this error as well. Now let's look at ourself through the other lens. Let's look at ourself through the lens of Hannah.

How quickly would we have lashed out at Eli's false accusation? How quickly would we have given him a piece of our mind? After all, look at the state of his family. Just who does he family. Just who does he think he is?

Remove the beam out of your own eye, old man. Before you start insinuating that I have some spec in my eye which actually isn't a spec but we see in Hannah in her response to Eli, a spirit of meekness, a spirit of humility. Matthew Henry points out that in justice to herself, Hannah expressly denies the charge. It's not so, my Lord. It's not so.

But in justice to Eli, she gives an account of her present behavior that gave rise to behavior that gave rise to his accusation. Oh for more of a spirit of such humility of such meekness. I love the beautiful language that Hannah uses in regard to the task she has been at. I have poured out my soul before the Lord. We use those words, don't we, sometimes?

I've poured out my soul before the Lord. She's held nothing back. Her soul has released its burden. She has left the cares at Jesus' feet. She has lifted her gaze off of her circumstances and has fixed her gaze upon Christ.

But Hannah also acknowledges that this pouring out of her soul, it's involved in abundance of complaint. There's been an abundance of complaint. David used similar language years later in the opening of Psalm 142. I cry out to the Lord with my voice, with my voice to the Lord. I make my supplication.

I pour out my complaint before him. I declare before him my trouble. So this begs the question, is it wrong to complain in prayer? Is it wrong to ask God why? I would suggest that it depends on the attitude of our heart.

It is not wrong to complain to God, but it is wrong to complain about God. It is not wrong to make known your complaint, but it is wrong to go on with a complaining spirit. It is not wrong to complain of your burden and to walk away in bitterness carrying your burden with you. Blakey has well said, quote, Let those who profess to be Christ's see they are consistent here. A fretful complaining Christian is a contradiction in terms amid the agitations of life often steal away to the green pastures we read about that earlier right in Psalm 23 steal away to the green pastures and the still waters and they will calm your soul.

And indeed that calmness of soul is exactly what Hannah experienced. It's what she came away with after she had prayed to the Lord. So having had reason to weep as well as a reason to pray, Hannah experiences, thirdly in this text, a reason to rejoice. A reason to rejoice. Verses 17 to 19.

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of him and she said let your maid servant find favor in your sight. So the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord and returned and came to their house at Rama. We see here that the accusation of Eli gave way to his benediction, a benediction of peace and a prayer for an answer from heaven. I don't believe that we should come away with the impression that Eli has here guaranteed an answer to prayer.

He has not uttered any promise from God. He hasn't said the Lord said or the Lord will, but yet it seems as though he takes seriously his role as the high priest in Israel. And here He's seeking the good of this afflicted woman and interceding on her behalf. I believe he took seriously the words of the Lord given to Moses, who in turn was to give them to Aaron and his sons in Numbers 6 22 to 27. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons saying, This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel.

Say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace so they shall put my name on the children of Israel and I will bless them and I do not doubt for a moment that this holy woman the wife of a leviate very familiar with the law of the Lord. I do not doubt that she was very familiar with God's promise uttered at the end of his exhortation to Aaron and his sons, so they shall put my name on the children of Israel and I will bless them. Say to them the Lord bless you and I will bless them." And what was Hannah's response to this benediction of Eli? The text is clear. So the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad.

Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord." You see the entirety of this woman's being now knows the peace that she received in the benediction. Appetite has returned to a stomach that had been in knots. Joy has returned to a face that had long expressed sorrow. And the heart that was so burdened is now set free to worship the one at whose feet she had laid her burden." I had already determined my outline before running across this quote from Blakey but but this quote helped to confirm to me the point stated in my outline line of a reason to weep, a reason to pray, and a reason to rejoice. Blakey says this, quote, is not this whole history, and by history he means what we find here in 1st Samuel, is not this whole history just like the one of the Psalms expressed not in word but in deeds.

First, the wail of distress. Then, the wrestling of the troubled heart with God. Then, the repose and triumph of faith. The repose and triumph of faith. That's where we are in this text.

And here's what we cannot afford to miss. The last portion of verse 19a reminds us of the realities of life. They returned from Shiloh and came to their house at Ramah. Interestingly, the root word that Shiloh gets its name from actually means peace or tranquility. So these words, they returned and came to their house at Rama are meant to impress upon us that Shiloh and all his experiences it's now over.

It's back to the daily grind, back to the home life that had brought so much sorrow, back to a divided home with a rival that constantly provoked her back to a daily reminder of her barrenness and were left grappling with the reality that her circumstances at this point they've not changed. They have not changed. Everything is just as it had been. But alas, something has changed. The disposition of her spirit, the disposition of her spirit.

Her weary soul has found a place of rest. She has breathed out her complaint unto Him whose sovereign ear is not deaf to the mourner's prayer. The disposition of her heart is, thy mercy seat is open still. Here let my soul retreat and with humble hope attend thy will and wait Just simply wait beneath thy feet So though her feet have taken her back to the place of sorrow her soul waits at the feet of Him whose name is Shiloh, he who is the peace of his people, he of whom Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49 10 when Shiloh comes when Shiloh Jesus Christ comes you See even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house.

They will still be praising you." Psalm 84, 3 and 4. So what do we learn from all of this? What do we learn? How does this apply to us where we are? Well dear ones, I believe we've been given a front-row seat to the display of the mystery of the providence of God.

Dale Ralph Davis has stated it well. I want to quote him a lengthy quote, but I think well worth it. Barren women seem to be God's instruments in raising up key figures in the history of redemption, whether the promised seed, Isaac, the father of Israel, Jacob, saviors or preservers of Israel, Joseph, Samson, Samuel, or the forerunner of the great king, John the Baptist. Hannah therefore shares in a fellowship of barrenness and it is frequently in this fellowship that new chapters in Yahweh's history with his people begin. Begin with nothing.

God's tendency is to make our total inability his starting point. His starting point. Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to his work. Indeed, our utter incapacity is often the prop he delights to use for his next act. This matter goes beyond the particular situations of biblical barren women.

We are facing one of the principles of Yahweh's modus operandi. When His people are without strength, without resources, without hope, without human gimmicks, then, then he loves to stretch forth his hand from heaven. Once we see where God often begins, we will understand how we may be encouraged. Do you find yourself in a state of hopelessness and helplessness this very hour. Be encouraged.

Be encouraged. God's tendency is to make our inability his starting point. You dear one like Hannah have great reason to rejoice. Let us pray. Gracious God, we thank you for your holy and fallible Word, and Lord we thank you for this narrative before us and Lord we pray that we would not get too caught up in the story without seeing you working as it were now behind the scenes, but oh Lord as we shall see as things unfold, you working in marvelous ways that no one can deny.

And so we thank you Lord that you have promised that you will build your church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And we know you're at work. And we know that you are having your will and way in the earth, even in our lives. So Lord give us a heart of trust and confidence in you and may we like her simply wait beneath your feet. Lord having breathed out our sorrows and complaints, just to be content to do your holy will and wait upon you.

In Christ's name we pray, amen.