A Made Appointment | Dr. Shona McLaurin Parham

Devotional

Day 1: From Routine Checkups to Emergency Prayers

Hannah’s annual temple visits became mechanical – checking religious boxes without heart transformation. But bitterness of soul pushed her to trade ritual for raw, desperate prayer. True breakthrough comes when we stop going through motions and start wrestling with God in our anguish. Like Hannah, our deepest pain can become the doorway to persistent, focused encounters with the One who reshapes stories. [59:43]

“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, ‘Lord Almighty, if you will look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and give me a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.’” (1 Samuel 1:10-11, NIV)

Reflection: What “routine” spiritual practice have you been checking off without heart engagement? Where do you need to shift from ritual to raw honesty before God?

Day 2: Breaking the Enemy’s Cycle of Distraction

Year after year, Peninnah’s taunts poisoned Hannah’s worship pilgrimage. The enemy still uses repetitive triggers – old wounds, comparisons, insecurities – to divert us from divine encounters. Hannah’s story reveals how persistent irritants aim to make us abandon our appointments with God. But breaking cycles requires recognizing distractions as spiritual warfare, not just bad luck. [55:16]

“Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” (1 Samuel 1:6-7, NIV)

Reflection: What “year after year” trigger consistently derails your spiritual focus? How might this irritation be a battlefield for your breakthrough?

Day 3: Reintroducing Yourself to the God Who Sees

Hannah declared “I am your servant” – not a victim, not defined by barrenness, but as God’s named child. When pain persists, we often forget our spiritual identity. Like Hannah, we must reintroduce ourselves to El Roi, the God who sees, not through religious clichés but through vulnerable ownership of our stories and needs. [01:02:19]

“She said, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.’” (1 Samuel 1:15-16, NIV)

Reflection: How would praying as God’s named child (“I am your __”) rather than your problem’s victim change your next spiritual appointment?

Day 4: When Numbing the Pain Keeps You from Healing

Hannah refused Elkanah’s shallow comfort and Peninnah’s drama to confront her soul-wound. We often choose numbing agents – overworking, substances, toxic relationships – over soul surgery. True healing begins when we stop self-medicating and let God probe the ache we’ve been silencing. [01:05:23]

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:20-21, NIV)

Reflection: What “numbing method” have you used to avoid your deepest spiritual ache? What would sitting with that pain in God’s presence require today?

Day 5: Worship After the Appointment: From Tears to Triumph

Hannah left Shiloh with a dry face and full stomach – not because her prayer was answered, but because her burden was transferred. True appointments with God don’t just change circumstances; they change our capacity to worship while waiting. Her tears became testimony when she traded controlling outcomes for trusting the Outcome-Giver. [01:13:17]

“Early the next morning they worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.” (1 Samuel 1:19-20, NIV)

Reflection: What burden do you need to leave at God’s feet so your worship can continue unhindered, even before the breakthrough comes?

Sermon Summary

The appointment image sets the whole matter plain. An appointment asks, “Who are you?” and “Why do you need to be seen?” First Samuel brings Hannah into that place, not as somebody just being picked on, but as a woman of determination, fortitude, and prayer.

Hannah’s name means gracious, favor, mercy, supplication, prayer. Her very name speaks spiritual character. Elkanah’s house goes up every year to Shiloh for worship and sacrifice, like an annual checkup. His family does not stay home. Elkanah brings wives and children, living out, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The worship at Shiloh is not a quick little moment. The offerings are many, and the people are there for a while. Yet the danger sits right there too. The danger is checking boxes. Went to worship, check. Participated, check. Gave something, check. The appointment does not do its full work unless honesty and transparency come with it.

The double portion given to Hannah shows that love and favor are already on her life, even while her womb is closed. Peninnah’s provoking becomes the irritant the enemy uses year after year. Hannah is on her way to worship, and here comes the distraction. Her rival keeps poking until Hannah weeps and cannot eat. The question presses hard: what cycle keeps a soul from worship?

Elkanah’s comfort is real, but it is not enough. “Am I not better to thee than ten sons?” cannot heal what only God can answer. Hannah’s pain is deeper than a husband’s affection can fix. Her sorrow needs the God who sees.

Hannah’s routine appointment becomes an emergency appointment. She rises up, goes before the Lord, and prays out of bitterness of soul. Her cry changes. Her desperation changes. Hannah identifies herself clearly: “I am your handmaid.” Then her request gets specific: she asks for a man child and vows him to the Lord.

Eli’s misunderstanding shows how outsiders can misread deep travail. Her lips move, but no sound comes, and Eli thinks she is drunk. Hannah is not drunk. Hannah is pouring out her soul before the Lord. Some folks may say, “It don’t take all that,” but the issue in the soul says it takes that and even more.

False remedies only numb pain for a minute. Denial, shopping, sex, substances, and self-made salves cannot do what the Father’s answer does. Eli speaks peace, and Hannah leaves changed before the baby ever shows up. Her face changes. Her appetite returns. Her worship returns. The Lord remembers her, Samuel is born, and his name testifies, “because I have asked him of the Lord.”

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Key Takeaways

1. Routine worship needs honest transparency [49:34] The annual trip to Shiloh could become another box checked, but Hannah’s story shows that worship is not meant to stay on the surface. An appointment with God asks for more than attendance, offering, and religious rhythm. The soul must tell the truth in the presence of the Father, because hidden pain keeps routine from becoming encounter. [49:34]
2. Irritants fight against true worship [55:16] Peninnah’s provoking was not random noise. The irritant arrived right on the way to worship, trying to pull Hannah’s mind from God to the wound. The enemy often works through repeated cycles, not just sudden attacks, and the real battle is whether grief will become distraction or prayer. [55:16]
3. Emergency prayer sounds different [01:00:37] Hannah had cried, fasted, and prayed for years, but something changed when she decided not to go home the same way. Deep anguish gave her prayer a different weight, a different aim, and a different honesty. There are moments when polite language falls away and the soul finally says, “Enough is enough.” [60:37]
4. Only God heals soul-deep sorrow [01:11:26] Elkanah loved Hannah, but his love could not answer what her soul was carrying. Human comfort may matter, but some remedies are only temporary fixes when the wound needs the counsel and power of the Lord. Hannah needed more than reassurance. Hannah needed the God of Israel to remember her. [71:26]
5. God’s answer changes the countenance [01:12:24] Hannah left before Samuel was conceived, but her face was already different. The promise restored her appetite and lifted the sadness from her countenance. God’s presence gave her joy before the visible evidence arrived, and that change showed that the appointment had done real work in her.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[46:50] - A Made Appointment With God
[47:35] - Seeing Hannah With A New Lens
[48:25] - Hannah’s Name And Spiritual Identity
[49:07] - Shiloh As The Annual Checkup
[50:43] - Worship, Sacrifice, And The Offerings
[52:37] - Elkanah Leads His Whole House
[53:40] - Hannah’s Double Portion
[54:30] - Peninnah As The Irritant
[56:30] - Year After Year In Pain
[59:28] - Hannah Makes An Emergency Appointment
[61:35] - Hannah Gets Specific With God
[63:40] - Eli Misreads Her Travail
[65:03] - False Remedies That Numb Pain
[72:24] - Hannah Leaves Changed And Remembered

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 1:1-20
"There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, 'Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?' After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, 'O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.' As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, 'How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.' But Hannah answered, 'No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.' Then Eli answered, 'Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.' And she said, 'Let your servant find favor in your eyes.' Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, 'I have asked for him from the Lord.'" [50:43]

Joshua 24:15
"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." [53:04]

Psalm 16:11
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." [01:13:31]

Proverbs 19:20-21
"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." [01:11:51]

Observation questions

In 1 Samuel 1, what repeated pattern shows up year after year when Hannah goes to the house of the Lord, and what effect does it have on her body and emotions? [55:16]
What details in the passage show that Elkanah led his whole household in worship instead of treating worship like an individual matter? [52:37]
In Hannah’s prayer, how does she identify herself before the Lord, and how specific is her request? [01:02:47]
After Eli speaks peace to Hannah, what visible changes are mentioned before Samuel is ever conceived?

Interpretation questions

Hannah received a double portion because she was loved, even while carrying a painful lack. What does that suggest about the difference between being favored by God and having every prayer answered on our timetable? [53:40]
Peninnah’s provoking happened in the very place and season connected to worship. Why do repeated irritations often become such a strong attack against worship, prayer, and focus on God? [55:16]
Elkanah cared for Hannah, but his words could not reach the deepest part of her sorrow. What kinds of burdens in a person’s life require more than human comfort and really need an answer from the Lord? [01:11:26]
Hannah left with a changed countenance before the visible answer arrived. What does that reveal about what can happen in God’s presence before circumstances change? [01:12:24]

Application questions

Routine worship can become box-checking if honesty is missing. What does “checking boxes” look like in this season of life, and where might more truth and transparency before God be needed? [49:34]
Irritants often show up right on the way to worship. What repeated cycle, thought pattern, person, or disappointment tends to pull attention away from God, and how has it been affecting worship lately? [55:46]
Some prayers stay polite for a long time, and then there comes a moment when the soul says, “enough is enough.” Is there an area right now that calls for that kind of urgent prayer instead of quiet endurance? [01:00:37]
Hannah got specific with God. What request has been carried for a long time but still has not been plainly laid before the Lord with that kind of clarity? [01:03:06]
Deep soul-pain often pushes people toward false remedies that only numb for a little while. When pain rises, what substitutes are most tempting—denial, distraction, spending, unhealthy relationships, substances, or something else? [01:05:03]
Human encouragement matters, but some pain goes deeper than people can fix. Where has there been a quiet expectation that another person should heal what only God can heal? [01:11:35]
Hannah’s face changed before the answer was visible. What would it look like to receive God’s peace now, even if the outward situation has not changed yet? [01:13:35]

Sermon Clips

57s

“Now, this is one that majority of us use to numb our pain. It's called denial. Oh yeah. We deny us even now. We pretend. We play we play we having Fantasy Island. Yeah. With ourselves. Amen. But let me tell you, the pain, the issue is real and it's not disappearing. Come on. enemy is persistent in trying to keep you from worship and breakthrough. And my question to you is why are you not persistent in your pursuit of breakthrough? We need to make an appointment to be seen. Hannah made an appointment with Elroy, the god who sees. We”

53s

“Hannah made an appointment to tell the father all about it but Eli thought she was drunk. Old lookers may say that you're doing too much and that it don't take all that. Come on. Okay? But they don't have a stake in the issue that you have. You need to tell them it takes that and even more. Yeah. I'm still not doing enough what I'm doing. I don't care if I'm snotting and crying. That's still not enough. takes that and even more to get the answer that I need. We've got to be persistent in the presence of the father. We need to cry aloud. Yes. And spare not. Amen.”

63s

“sometimes tell others about our symptoms and they provide a remedy. Hannah told her husband and her desire to, you know, give birth and how she was taunted by Panaina and his remedy was telling her that he's better than 10 sons. I love you girl. You know, I I I love you. That's what he said. He was all about acting like Lenny. He just he He thought that was gonna do it. Oh yeah. thought he thought it. But it was too deep. What she wanted was more than what he could give. The remedy was a it was a temporary fix but Hannah needed an answer from the lord that satisfied and healed her soul.”

39s

“And the lord remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived that she bear a son and called his name Samuel saying, because I have asked him of the lord. Hannah made an appointment in the midst of her issue. She laid it all out to the father and she received her answer. She was transformed and renewed after her appointment. My question to you is, will you make an appointment with the father today? Y'all pray my strength in the lord.”

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