HEBREW WORD STUDY – THE CLIMACTIC PRAYER – HIREBETHAH HITEPALEL  

הרבתה  התפלל   Hei Resh Bethg Taw Hei    Hei Taw Pei Lamed Lamed

1 Samuel 1:12: “And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.”

Hannah was at her wits end. She had prayed over and over to God for a child. Her husband’s other wife who had children would torment her and make fun of her because she was barren to the point that  it would drive her to tears.  She pleaded with God and begged God to give her a child.

Have you ever prayed for something with all your heart, prayed and prayed and God seemed to never answer that prayer. I think we all have, I know I have and still do.  I continue to have a lifelong prayer that has gone unanswered and now as I knock at the door of 70 years of age I fear I will never have answer to that prayer.  

The KJV says she continued praying before God. This was in the temple as close as she was allowed to the Holy of Holies.  The word “continued” is a bit odd in this grammatical form as it is in a perfect, completed action.  It should be in an imperfect form, an incompleted action.  The word comes from the root word ravah which means great, to increase, to grow to multiply.  But in a perfect form it suggesting that this prayer is reaching a climax, that is the clumination or height of intensity.  Have you ever reached a point like that in your prayer?  Surely, as a beloved child of God He would respond.  As a beloved child your heart is joined with His heart, surely this overwhelming desire was put there by Him.  Why does God not answer that prayer?

Then we find that the word praying is in a Hithpael form. She was praying to herself, that is silently, a silent prayer. This was a very private prayer, not one that she would share with others, it was a very personal prayer.  Do you have such a prayer, one that you would not share at a prayer meeting when they ask for requests?  I know I have such a prayer. Just between God and I, so personal I would not share it with anyone.  Yet, it is still unanswered. 

I search the scriptures 6 to 8 hours every day.  I share the message of God’s love every day with those who ride my disability bus, I give more, much more than 10% of my income back to the Lord.  I am always singing my praises to God and reminding myself I am in the presence of God and in everything I do I try to do as unto God.  Why does He not answer that prayer?  Then I see others who are less spiritual, less devoted to God than I am getting the very thing I am praying for in an abundance.  Where is the fairness in all that? 

If you share my agony, the let me share with you a little story from rabbanic literature that has resolved my cry.  There was a king who had two daughters.  One was a selfish, self centered, self seeking young woman.  The other was a loving, caring, compassionate young lady.  One day the self centered daughter entered the throne room, interrupted an important meeting that her father, the king, was conducting and demanded that her father, the king, hire the best seamstress in the kingdom to make a dress for her for an upcoming event.  The king snapped his fingers at a servant and said: “Do it, right now.”  

That evening the other daughter, the loving, caring compassionate daughter came to her father during his dinner time and ask: “Father, I understand you hired the best seamstress in the kingdom to make a dress for my sister for an upcoming event.  Could she also make a dress for me as I also will attend that event?”  The king did not answer but motioned for his daughter to sit down.  The servants brought her a plate of food and for the next hour the king and his daughter just talked, liked a father and daughter would talk.  The king loved hearing about his daughter’s life events and even took special delight in offering some fatherly advice. When the meal ended and the king got up to leave and return to his duties the daughter again asked about the dress.  The king, the father, said he would think about it.  

The next evening the daughter again came and asked about the dress.  Again, the king invited his daughter to sit down and she shared the events of her day with him.  Again, they spoke like a father and daughter would speak.  Again, after the meal ended the daughter asked about the dress and again the father said he was still thinking about it.  

This went on for the next few days, the daughter coming to her father, the king, asking about the dress and sitting down and eating dinner with her father as they talked.  At the end of each meal the daughter asked about the dress and the king, the father, continued to say that he was still thinking about it.  

After one such evening a servant approached the king and asked: “Master, may I ask a question that all your servants have been asking?”  The king nodded his approval and the servant said: “You have this one daughter who is selfish and self centered and she marches into your throne room, interrupts an important meeting to ask for a dress. Then, without a moment’s hesitation you give it to her.  Yet you have this other daughter, this sweet, gentle, loving child come to you every day with the same request and you refuse to answer it – why?”  The king, this father, just stared off into space and quietly said: “I am so afraid that if I give her what she wants, she will not join me for dinner again.” 

Maybe during all that time that Hannah was praying for a child, she was also just sharing her life events with God like a Father and daughter and God knew that the intensity of that time was the right time to grant her request for now she would continue to share her heart with God with the request granted.  Maybe God knows that if He granted my request, I would not be sharing my heart with Him over the bread of life as much.  Maybe God has not answered your prayer because His time with you is more precious to Him than what you are requesting.  Just maybe.