Hannah's story is found at the very beginning of the book of 1 Samuel: barren by God's hand (1.5), she prays devoutly for a child, promising to devote him to God. God grants her wish and Hannah fulfills her vow, taking Samuel to live with the priest as soon as she had weaned him. In reward for her faithfulness with Samuel, God blesses Hannah with five more children.

This is a wonderful account, but I want to draw your attention to one small detail that occurs toward the end of the narrative. In 2.19, we read that every year, Hannah would make a robe for Samuel and bring it to him when she came to Shiloh to worship God. This is one of those wonderful details that makes the historical characters of the Bible come alive for us. I wonder whether Hannah looked forward to making that robe every year, whether it was the highlight of her yearly routine. How thankful she must have been for the opportunity to make a robe for Samuel! How much love she would have put into her sewing! Every thread in Samuel's garment carried the weight of her gratitude in it. Every place his body touched the fabric felt the effect of her prayers for his life, his health, and his service to God. Truly very few articles of clothing have ever borne such love sewn into them!

Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at ways to bring our daily activities at work into our prayer lives. We looked at praying for the people we come in contact with at work, and we looked at praying for the people who we never really come into contact with, that is, the people who made the materials we use everyday -- cars, clothing, desks, staplers, photocopiers, etc. I want to take the next two weeks to look at ways we can do this at home as well: How can our housework provide us with opportunities for expanded prayer? This is an exercise that men and women living in monastic communities have made their life's work: laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. -- everything is an act of service to Christ and prayer for others. Next week we'll look at seeing Christ in these activities, but this week I want to continue our focus on intercessory prayer.

Obviously, the circle of people we encounter at home is much smaller than that which we encounter at work, but the results of our prayers here will be much more tangible to us, since it deals with our families and friends. Now, there is great benefit to be derived from praying for strangers, as it opens our eyes to God's love for the world and to the power of prayer to make a difference even when we have nothing invested in it. Praying for strangers can increase our faith, since we have to trust that even if we never see the results, the God who promises to hear us will be faithful to respond: whatever we ask in Jesus' name will be granted us. However, the prayers that we lift up for our immediate circle will very readily come back upon us -- they will effect not merely the people over whom we pray, but will in turn effect us through these same people. As we pray for our family and for our friends, we are praying over situations in which we are included and over people who have an active role in shaping our own lives. By our prayers, not only do we change how we see and treat our loved ones, but we also change how they see and treat us.

So how do we do this? Any way we can think of! As always, we should be as creative as we can in finding ways to turn our activities into prayer. Let's look at a few:

Laundry: As you handle each piece of clothing, pray for the person who it. Pray that God will open their hearts to his love and grace, that God will have mercy on them, and that God will use them in the lives of their friends. Was the piece of clothing a gift? Pray for the one who gave it and ask God to bless the relationship between the two people: the giver and the wearer. Ask God to clean the heart of the person who wears the garment, just as you clean the fabric with detergent. Ask God to clothe her/him in righteousness, in faithfulness, in love. Look up Zechariah 3.1-5 and pray that every person whose laundry passes through your hands might be clothed in clean linens and in crowned with a turban. Ask that God clothe them in Christ's righteousness.

Cooking: 1) Preparation: Ask God to preserve the health of each person for whom you are cooking. Pray that just as they eat and enjoy the food before them, they might also taste of God and see that he is good (Psalm 34.8), and that they would hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5.6), after God (Psalm 42.1-2), and after the body and blood of Christ Jesus. Pray that they might crave the word of God (1 Peter 2.2-3), and that they might never thirst again (John 4.14).

2) During the meal: Pray that everyone at the table would find peace and joy in the love of Christ (Ecclesiastes 9.7). Call to mind Daniel 1.8-16 and pray that God cover them with health.

3) Clean up: Thank God for all his blessings, especially that we do not have to worry about what we shall eat or drink, because God knows that we need all these things (Luke 12.29-31). As you clean the dishes and wipe down the table and stove, ask that God wipe away the crumbs and the grease from their hearts.

Housecleaning: As you pick things up, thank God for whomever uses them. Ask that if the item can be used for God's service, that it be done. As you straighten up and put things in their places, ask God to put your own lives and hearts back in order, that everything may be where it belongs, ready to find when it needs to be used again. As you vacuum, dust, scrub the bathtub, etc., ask God to do the same to your hearts: that all the dirt and grime that has accumulated in your lives would be removed, that you might be spotless before God. As you clean the windows, ask that God might do the same to you and your family or housemates, so that the world might have a clear view into your hearts. Thank God for providing you a place to live, and ask that you use it faithfully to God's service, in whatever way God might call you to use it. As you make the beds, ask that God might make your lives into a place where those who are tired can find rest and those who are cold can find warmth (Mrk 4.30-32).

Well, as you can see, it's not hard to find ways to be inspired by acts of cleaning! Ask God to show you continually the spiritual counterparts to all the unexciting tasks you do around the house. Ask God to make your heart his home, to clean it and redecorate it as he sees fit. Ask God to give you a heart like Hannah's, that you might do all your household routines with a heart of gratitude, love, and prayer. And as you find new ways to devote your household tasks to God, let me know what you discover!

S.D.G.!

in Christ,
steve