And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children – 1st Samuel 1:2.

Why is a question we all ask when things aren’t going the way we desire. Some have died in their whys because they didn’t get an answer, and they were living all they knew how to please God.

Hannah loved God and lived according to all she knew of God’s Word, but she didn’t have children and had an adversary named Peninnah. During this dispensation, women who didn’t have children were looked down upon, less than those who had children.

Yearly, as they went to Shiloh, Peninnah would provoke Hannah to tears because she didn’t have children. The Bible doesn’t specify how long this lasted, but it must have been for years since Peninnah had children, suggesting her children were older than just a year. Hannah could have taken vengeance herself, or she could have blamed God for her barrenness.

Rather than taking vengeance or blaming God, Hannah went to the temple and began to pray. Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk because her lips were moving, but no words were coming out of her mouth. She explained her dilemma to the priest, who declared that the Lord was going to give her her petition.

The Lord did as the priest declared; Hannah had a baby boy. After he was weaned, she took him to the temple to present him to the Lord for service. Hannah could have gotten stuck in “why,” but rather than feeling sorrow for herself, she began to pray and ask God for what she wanted.

Our whys are opportunities for us to have an encounter with the God of Creation. He is the God who sees all, knows all, and can fix all that is not lining up with the promises He has spoken over your life, as well as your heart’s desires.

Please don’t die in your why, don’t give up on the things you desire because they didn’t happen in the time frame you think they should have. Just like Hannah, you will have an adversary taunting you, “Why are you going through this? Or why didn’t this happen? As well as telling you to give up.

Whatever it is you’re trying to do, take it before the Lord in prayer. Every why has an answer. Things we go through are not because God does not love us, or He’s punishing us. Everything that happened to you that was good God did it, and everything that happened to you that was bad the Adversary did it!

To fight for what you want or need, you need God to intervene, and He will only do so when you ask Him. Many have lost blessings because they were too proud to ask for help. God is for you and not against you!