The Wait Is Over by Pastor Jerry Eze: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Scripture Foundation: The Story of Hannah

We read together from 1 Samuel 1:1-20, the account of Elkanah, his two wives Hannah and Peninnah, Hannah's years of barrenness and grief, her vow before the Lord at Shiloh, Eli's blessing over her, and the eventual birth of Samuel.

The wait is over. You may not know what you are declaring, but it has power. It is life, it is victory. The waiting days of wilderness experience, the days of rising and falling, the days of being let down, the days of living in fear of tomorrow, the days of wondering what the future holds, the days your family was in crisis, the days of affliction and pain and loss, the days grief took the better part of you — by the word of the Lord I announce those days are over. The hand of the Lord is taking you to your breakthrough. You may not see the wind, you may not see the rain, but your valley is already full of water. You will not cry over the same matter again. You will not show up tomorrow and see the same obstacle. Your prayers are not a waste. Every agony is turning into celebration, every pain is becoming a symbol of celebration. You may be weak, but God is on your side. You may have lost out, but God is on your matter. Things are aligned, processes are working.

Why Am I Still Waiting?

The design of God for our lives is that his leading will always take us to new heights, new dimensions. Even the Bible was careful to tell us that Jesus grew, meaning God is interested in an orderly, developing process for our lives. He has set before us an open door, and no man can shut it. The real question many are wrestling with is not whether God is able, but why the answer has not yet come: Lord, you said none shall be barren, you said it would not be long, you said one thing would happen fast on the heels of another, so why am I still waiting?

Before going further, let me curse every demonic waiting, every delay that has been fortified at any altar. Let me speak against delays that are ordinances from the pit of hell. Let them be refreshed right now.

Go in Peace: The Meaning of Shalom

Recall what Eli said to Hannah after she poured out her grief before the Lord and he mistook her silent, moving lips for drunkenness. When she explained that she was a woman of a sorrowful spirit pouring out her soul, Eli did not sit and dwell on her pain. He gave her only one line: "Go in peace." He did not journey with her in her brokenness or her delay; he redirected her into a journey of peace. Shalom, beyond meaning peace, carries the extended meaning of nothing missing and nothing broken. So the first mentality to carry is this: the enemy called it a delay, but nothing has actually been taken from you, and nothing that God wants to do for you has been stopped. When God begins to move, he restores the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). What the devil tries to do with delay is create a hole in the soul.

This is why even Matthew 11:3 shows John the Baptist, having announced the coming of the Messiah, sitting in prison and sending people to ask, "Are you the one, or do we look for another?" Even after declaring the word boldly, John wrestled with doubt in his season of waiting, and it cost him his life. Even in pain, you must keep declaring the word, otherwise the devil, who came to steal, kill, and destroy, will use your silence against you. Feelings do not get to determine faith.

Don't let the wait break you, because a broken man cannot access a new season. The enemy wants delay to plant a mentality: "why do things always fall apart for me," "why is it that whenever I try, it never works." That mentality, once accepted, becomes the very thing that keeps producing the pattern, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Watch Out for the Peninnah in Your House

The Bible calls Peninnah Hannah's "adversary." Peninnah did not live far away; she lived in the same house, provoking Hannah daily. It is easier to defend against an adversary outside your home than one living inside it. A Peninnah is not always a person; a Peninnah can be a fear, a demon, a system, a structure, or a person, whatever repeatedly attacks your feelings, your faith, and everything you believe. When something tells you your child will die, your door will not open again, that thing is a Peninnah, and it should be met with refusal to dwell on it or process it: "I will not think on it, I will not stay on the matter."

The devil does not know exactly what God is about to do, but he can sense a shift in season and reads the signs around you. That is why the attack often intensifies right before a breakthrough. Recognize it as a sign that change is near rather than evidence that nothing is happening. It is important to keep your face turned away from Peninnah and fixed on God: whatever form the adversary takes, it is not the real issue; God is the issue.

Praying From God to the Issue, Not From the Issue to God

There is a difference between praying from your issue toward God and praying from God toward your issue. Praying from the issue keeps repeating how bad the situation is. Praying from God declares how big God is regardless of the situation. This is why we pray with the word, and from our understanding of who we are in Christ. John 12:24 teaches that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. What looks like a death of your expectation may be the very thing preparing a harvest.

Elkanah's Portion, or Hannah's Destiny

Elkanah told Hannah, "Am I not better to you than ten sons?" He was, in effect, telling her that her situation was not that bad, that she could still get by without the child. Elkanah was offering her a "worthy portion," something to consume and let pass, but what Hannah wanted was destiny, not a portion. Many people settle into an Elkanah-shaped contentment, where someone or something offers just enough comfort to stop them pursuing what God actually promised. The world was framed by the word of God, so whatever is not being framed by God's word will not become your reality; do not let a lesser portion substitute for your destiny.

Continuous, Laboring Prayer

Samuel did not come to Hannah by a single prayer; he came by continuous prayer. 1 Samuel 1:12 notes that as she "continued praying" before the Lord, Eli marked her mouth. Colossians 4:12 speaks of Epaphras, a servant of Christ, "always labouring fervently" in prayer, that the believers might stand perfect and complete. Perfection and completion require laboring prayer, not a casual, occasional habit. Someone expecting a child understands travail; there is a corresponding labor in prayer for what you are believing God for.

• Move from petition to supplication.
• Move from supplication to thanksgiving.
• Move into warfare prayer, then into prayer of mercy.
• When one form is exhausted, begin again with another — declarative prayer, prayer of the scriptures, prayer of the word spoken over your life.

The True Posture of Prayer

When Eli looked at Hannah and assumed she was drunk because her prayer was not "composed," it revealed something about how real, desperate prayer looks: it is often uncoordinated, unpolished, and unconcerned with appearances. Jesus himself prayed all night while others slept, and even now, seated at the right hand of the Father, he continues making intercession; the praying never stops.

From Asking to Surrender: Hannah's Change of Mindset

At some point in Hannah's praying, something shifted. She stopped merely asking for a child and told the Lord that if he gave her this child, she would give the child back to him. That was not simply a vow; it was a change of mindset, moving from "this is about me" to "this is about you." Many prayers remain unanswered not because God is unable, but because the asking has stayed entirely about the person asking: their vindication, their comfort, their image before others. When a prayer shifts from being about personal proof or lust to being about God's kingdom, something changes in the one who is praying.

The wickedness of Peninnah pushed Hannah into the temple, toward God. Do not let anything, including the very adversary attacking you, pull you away from God; let it push you toward him instead.