A Soldier's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

I pray this letter finds you well. I was thinking of our time walking the fields near the Rappahannock and was moved to write. The dispatches from this front are often grim, and the conflict is unrelenting.

God's Answer & Hannah's Fulfillment of Her Vow (Vol. 5)

The Lord remembered Hannah. Those simple words mark the turning point in the story. After years of sorrow, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

Eli's Misunderstanding & Blessing (Vol. 4)

As Hannah prayed silently, Eli the priest watched her and assumed she was drunk. At first, his misunderstanding could have added insult to Hannah’s pain. Yet, Hannah responded with respect and truth.

Hannah's Prayer & Vow (Vol. 3)

In her grief, Hannah did the most powerful thing she could—she prayed. The text says she was “greatly distressed” and “wept bitterly,” yet she turned her anguish into a vow before the Lord.

Elkanah's Love & Devotion (Vol. 2)

Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, plays a quiet but meaningful role in the story. He is described as a man who went up every year with his family to worship and sacrifice to the Lord.

Hannah's Barrenness & Rivalry (Vol. 1)

Hannah’s story begins with pain. She was deeply loved by her husband, Elkanah, yet could not have children. Meanwhile, Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, had sons and daughters and used that fact to provoke Hannah year after year.