“Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.”
I SAMUEL 2:21

One of my favorite stories in the Holy Scripture is the story of the prophet Samuel. Like many of us, the good that this man of God will become all began with a prayerful mother. The story of Hannah is moving and beautiful. It is a model to parents every where about the need not only to pray for our children, even those yet to be born, but to dedicate them to the LORD. Far to often we are more quick to dedicate our children to sports, arts, or some other practice than faith. Over the years, I have watched as parents become absent from church life because of their child’s extracurricular activities. Some even to the point of quitting the church all together.
Please do not misunderstand the message I am seeking to convey. I am not against sports or other healthy activities for our children. I think they can serve a purpose in helping to teach many good qualities to our young. However, children are not children forever. We blink and they are grown. More than likely, they are not going to become professional athletes, but they will definitely become adults. Children are like sponges absorbing the world around them. This is were Hannah becomes such a great model to us all. She dedicated her child to the LORD. Listen to Hannah, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” (I Samuel 1:27-28). Wow! What an awesome calling for God’s people. We need to give our children to the LORD. After all, isn’t that the reason God has placed them in our lives. It is on us to teach them the truth and grace of our LORD. This is true whether you are a parent, grandparent, or “church” parent. The young need to be mentored in the ways of God by following the example of faithful caring Christians they can look up to.