Hannah was a woman with a deep grief on her heart because her womb had remained closed. Many women face this dilemma and it causes pain because children are a gift from the Lord, but how do you face life when that is not given? Hannah took her pain to the Lord outside the tabernacle. While in deep prayer, the high priest Eli rebuked her thinking Hannah was drunk. But, what we want to notice is how she answered his rebuke. While Eli rebuked her for being drunk, Hannah told him that was not true but instead she was in deep pain and anguish. What we need to see is her response did not include the real problem. She left that problem with the Lord and only told Eli about her great distress.
How often do we pray and others want to know the particulars. Hannah never shared those with Eli but only God. What a beautiful way to keep rumors and/or gossip from happening. We should learn from this encounter how we too share our deepest anguish. Others do not need to know the particulars. What they do need to know is our heart is in pain.
