1 Samuel 1, Ecclesiastes 2, James 5

Reading Hannah's story makes me cry. Her inability to conceive brought shame, scorn and ridicule. She lived daily in misery, each month fresh with disappointment. For years. And prayer changed everything. Prayer changed everything for her personally and for her nation. She was not only a woman of prayer, but of her word. When the time came to relinquish her son, she didn't back out.

Hard things drive us to prayer. It is when life eases up that we find out if we meant what we prayed.

Solomon discovered that accumulating things didn't bring fulfillment. Not even wisdom was able to make him content. He failed to recognize two things. In the words of John Maxwell,  "All . . . have two major voids:

1. The God-sized vacuum inside their heart; only the Lord can fill it.
2. The life-sized vacuum inside their heart; only their life mission can fulfill it."

James recognized the vacuums. He addresses them here. Accumulating things not only leaves a void, but also leads to sin. Solomon worried that his descendants would do foolish or sinful things with his wealth. And he searched for the meaning Hannah found. A life mission. James found it, too, and encourages his readers. He instructs us how to live while we wait for the ultimate fulfillment--the return of Christ.