“O, Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” (1Sam 1:11)
The word ‘Sabaoth’ in Hebrew means an army, soldiers, hosts, an assembly of trained men (or angels), prepared to wait and move at the command of their captain to perform exploits for His name. It is the ‘military’ name of God. This revelation is not given to ‘baby’ Christians or civilians (worldly Christians). It is only given to the mature believers, the soldiers in God’s army.
Hannah is in agony because she is barren. (This story applies to every barren situation in your life.) She worships Jehovah Sabaoth every year but still, there is no answer. This time she leaves all human help behind and moves on to pray alone. She makes a vow to Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of hosts), that if He gives her what no man can give (a son) then she will give back to Him what she has received. In other words, she makes a vow to the Lord of Hosts that if He gives her a boy, he will be a soldier in His army. God answers and this is how Prophet Samuel was born. It is with this anointing as God’s soldier that Samuel later kills Amalek to pieces in the presence of God (1Sam 15:33).
To be a soldier (for Christ) you need four things:
• To make a personal DECISION to enroll in the army of the only Living God. From this moment there is no going back!
• To be filled daily with genuine COURAGE to live for God!
• To ENDURE all things as discipline. From now on, no complains are allowed. The result of discipline for a soldier is that he will fear his Commander (Jesus) more than he fears his enemy (the devil) (2Tim 1:7; 2:3, 4).
• To have 100 percent HOPE that his victory is sure (2 Cor 2:14).
God has many names. Each name revels an angle of His character. Jehovah Sabaoth is the battle name of God. He does not answer any (fancy, ‘civilian’) prayer. Like in Hannah’s case, He surely answers the desperate prayers of the oppressed! To be desperate means to be in extreme need, anxious to live, to lose all hope to live if help is not given. Because Jehovah Sabaoth lives, there is no reason why a believer should ever know defeat!
In Christ I declare: I am a child of God! I fear nothing and nobody except my God! I gave my life to Christ, unconditionally! Whatever He wants to do with it, is good enough for me! I receive the Resurrection power of the Holy Spirit of Life! I will not even consider backsliding, betrayal or suicide! I will never complain about any situation I find myself in! I no longer live, but Christ lives and does His work in me! I have the hope of glory sealed in my heart! No matter the trials, I will always believe that my future is better than my past! The Lord of Hosts has remembered me! My shameful bareness is gone! I am pregnant with life and fruitful with the Spirit! To the glory of God! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
(In the picture, a sister in Christ, during the Sunday service in our church)
Green Pastures 