Giving With Nothing to Give

It is hard to give something if you don´t have anything. When I first started college, I was on the “work scholarship” program. That meant that I slaved for the college for less than minimum wage to get my bill reduced.  It also meant that I never got paid with actual money.  It really bothered me that I could not tithe from my earnings. Since it was a “Christian” college, I asked them if I could apply ten percent of my earnings to the local church at the school.  That was a no-go. I had no money to give. Nothing. Nada.

Hannah, the mom of the amazing prophet Samuel, had nothing. She found herself in the un-Biblical yet common marriage with multiple wives. The other wife had children, making her culturally relevant at the time. She tormented Hannah every day. Their shared husband seemed sincere, but he clearly lacked understanding even telling Hannah that he, himself, was better than having seven sons. Hannah could not even give an offering to the Lord without her husband giving her something to offer. She was barren and had nothing to her name.


What did Hannah do? She went to the Lord and begged for a son. She did not do this with the attitude recorded in James 4:3, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” No, when she asked the Lord for a son, it was so that she could give him back to the Lord.  She really loved God and wanted to be able to offer Him something. But she owned nothing.

When she went to pray, she was misjudged and falsely accused by the priest of being drunk. Here she was pouring her heart out to the Lord when the one person who should be the most compassionate showed her the least amount of understanding. Later he asked God to grant her request, probably feeling badly about how he had treated her.


God answered Hannah´s prayer giving her a son. She did what she had wanted to do all along; she offered the most precious thing that she owned to the Lord. God later blessed her with five more children. She was no longer barren having nothing to her name.


Looking at the beginning of the story, though, Hannah really did give something.  She gave the Lord her heart. She wanted something tangible to demonstrate her love for the Lord, but He was already happy with the love that she was giving Him. Of course, He answered her request for a son and blessed her afterwards anyway.


Even after college, there have been times that I have felt that I had nothing to give. Of course, tithing is a Biblical principle, but it only works if you get money. I need to remember that the Lord does not count tangible stuff like we do. He looks at my heart. Is my desire to give something to Him? If I ask Him for something, is it for selfish reasons? Or am I asking for something so that I can give it to Him, use it for Him, and be a blessing to others?


Hannah is a hero of the faith. Her son Samuel transitioned God´s people from the time of the judges to the time of the kings. In fact, he anointed the first two kings himself. Hannah´s gift of her heart, her son, and her service to the Lord are an inspiration and a comfort.

Patrick and Vicki Weimer in Iceland since 1999