Rich Wilkerson Jr. — The Hannah Hotline

Have you ever tried calling into a radio station repeatedly but couldn't get through? As followers of Christ, there's a hotline we can use and never have to worry about a busy signal or hearing a dial tone - our calls always go through to God. With a message titled "The Hannah Hotline," Pastor Rich Wilkerson, Jr. explores the importance of prayer in our lives. In the Bible, Hannah presented a great example of using prayer as the hotline to God. Frustrated with her reality of being barren, Hannah brought her disappointments to God through intimate communication. When we experience difficulty it's easy to complain about our circumstance and look to things around us as a way to cope. We have to learn to tune out the noise of the world and remain in God's presence because an occasional praise is no match for consistent prayer. Through Hannah's story, we learn three components of her prayers that we can apply to our lives. First, Hannah prayed from her heart. She embraced the hurt and bitterness she felt, brought that to God and was able to take on God's lens of her life. With prayer, Hannah never tried to impress others. So much so, Eli believed she was drunk in public. But from her situation, we learn that when you're desperate for God, you're not concerned with how you look - only God's attention matters. Finally, Hannah's prayers demonstrate how our prayers should be attached to God's glory. Why do we want the thing we're requesting? And how will God be glorified in you receiving it? The more we pray, God will either answer our prayers or reorder our priorities. When we are vulnerable, have the right posture and keep God at the center of our wants and desires, we can always count on God picking up our calls.