Learn from a Bible Mother Just In Time for Mother’s Day!

As Mother’s Day approaches every year, most of us take time to think about and appreciate the women who have helped and mentored us. This year, why not learn from them as well? Living Scriptures would like to help with a couple of posts about mothers from the scriptures!

Some of the most amazing lessons found in the scriptures were taught to us by mothers. No matter what your hardships are, chances are that a mother from the scriptures conquered it millennia ago.

For instance, you may feel that something is missing in your life. Or perhaps you have been waiting so long for a dream to come true that you can hardly bear it anymore. If that’s the case, then you and the Old Testament woman named Hannah have a lot in common. She became the mother of Samuel the prophet. But before that, she spent years—maybe even decades—mourning the fact that she was not a mother.

Eventually, though, Hannah did more than mourn. She took her wish with her to the temple and prayed to God, promising that if He granted her a son, she would dedicate his life to the Lord. The prophet, Eli, felt Hannah’s sincerity and told her that God would grant her petition. And He did.

Why was Hannah’s desire granted? Maybe you’re also wondering, “Why hasn’t my desire been granted?” Sometimes God delays or withholds certain blessings because He knows something we don’t know, but He is eager to help us. If we haven’t received a blessing, it is most likely because we have not done our part. If we look closely at Hannah’s story, we can see the Lord’s pattern for gaining our wishes.

First of all, Hannah prayed to have a son. That may seem obvious, but sometimes we forget that step. God generally won’t give us something we haven’t asked Him for. Even though He knows how we feel before we tell Him, He still wants us to pray and have conversations with Him. He wants us to invite him into our lives.

Hannah’s wish to be a mother was also a virtuous one. It’s important that our desire be righteous as well. If God wouldn’t approve of our desire, why would He bless us with it? Even if our desire is in line with the commandments, we should still ask God if it is part of His plan for us.

When Hannah asked for her desire, she knew and accepted that motherhood would require hard work. We, too, must be willing to do more than hold out our arms to receive a blessing. Heavenly Father loves to work with us, not for us.

God is also interested in what we plan to do with our desire if we receive it. Will we hold it selfishly, or use it to bless others? Heavenly Father is more likely to bless us with something if He knows we will use it in His kingdom. Hannah knew this truth. That’s why she promised that her son would dedicate his life to God. She said:

“For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord[.]”  –1 Samuel 1:27-28

Because He knew that Hannah would keep her promise, God gave her Samuel and, later, more children who brought her joy.

So the next time you want something and need God’s help to get it, here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Have I asked God to help me gain this desire?
• Is my desire pleasing to God?
• What can I do to make my desire a reality?
• If I get my desire, how will I use it to further God’s work?

Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, and He wants to bless us. If we follow the example of Hannah, we can gain many righteous desires from Him and achieve new levels of happiness.

Want to learn even more from Hannah? Use the study chart below to read her story and apply specific principles to your life. And stay tuned for future posts to learn about more mothers from the scriptures, take a quiz to learn which scripture mother is most like yours, and see some great Living Scripture gifts you can get for the mothers in your life!