Samuel means “asked of God.” In naming her baby, Hannah remembered that his delivery was in response to her prayer made nine months earlier. I’m convinced the biggest problem in our prayer lives is forgetting what we prayed for. When the answer to our prayer comes nine days, months, or years after we asked, we say, “Wonderful!” but forget it is in answer to what we were praying for previously.

Forgetting what I prayed for previously causes me to think God is not responding to my prayers presently. For example, in a moment of honesty before the Lord, I pray, “Lord, there are things in me that need to be changed. Make me a man who is broken before You and totally dependent on You. Lord, change me.” And He begins that process. But then, three weeks later, I pray, “Lord, I need a raise desperately.” But the raise doesn’t come. Why? Because God is still answering my prayer that I be dependent on Him. Since we don’t remember what we pray for, we often end up offering contradictory prayers.

When I look back over my journals, inevitably I hear myself saying, “No wonder I’m going through this now. I prayed for it way back then.” Forgetting what we pray for is a problem most of us have that keeps us from being men and women of prayer. Such was not the case with Hannah.