How to Write a Praise Prayer: The Song of Hannah (1 Sam 1.26–27; 2.1–10)

Hannah’s praise prayer is one of the longer prayers in the Bible (outside the Psalms). We met Hannah in the last prayer passage, where she offered a petition and a vow to God about her desire to bear a child. After God grants her request, and she has a child, she offers this long prayer of praise.

I once attended a church where one of the leaders often wrote out his public prayers before offering them. Another member criticized him, saying that public prayers should be spontaneous and from the heart, to allow the Spirit to work. The leader responded that the Spirit could work just as well in the composition of a prayer! Of course, we have prayers of both kinds in the Bible, so if we desire a rich prayer life, we should use both kinds of prayers.

 This prayer of Hannah’s is very well-structured and an excellent model for us to use to write our own prayers. After all, prayers do not always have to be spontaneous and made up at the moment. There’s a long tradition of using pre-written prayers: the Lord’s prayer is probably the most well-known.

Praise prayers do not so much thank God for something he’s done, as praise him for who he is. It is more general than, “thank you, God, for putting food on our table.” Instead, a praise prayer might say,“ God, you are the one who brings forth food and drink from the Earth to sustain us.” It’s more general, and the focus is not so much on the food as it is on God himself.

This prayer begins by praising the character of God, then moves to build on that by showing how God often does things in ways that might surprise us. 

The next stanzas describe how God has power to make people poor or rich, and high or low. He has created everything; therefore he can do anything with it.

The last two stances focus on those who follow God—or not.

Read this prayer in your Bible and try writing your own prayer.

If you would like to read a more in-depth study of this prayer, including its background and context, the meaning, a more detailed study of its structure, and application, join us on Patreon for the full study.