"My heart rejoices in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord.” — 1 Samuel 2:1

This week, the Alethea Rapha Women gathered to begin our session reading Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2. What began as a simple opening scripture became a mirror moment—a reminder that true strength is found not in our ability to hold everything together, but in our willingness to be known by God.

Hannah’s song is not a cry of pain—it’s the sound of a woman who’s seen the faithfulness of God after years of silence, disappointment, and misunderstanding. It’s a declaration that says:

“My heart exalts in the Lord… my mouth boasts over my enemies.”

In her praise, Hannah teaches us that God’s justice, power, and faithfulness are not abstract ideas. They are realities experienced when we finally stop striving in our own strength.

God Is Faithful — Even When We Are Fragile

During our time together, we reflected on how easy it is to rely on our own ability to fix things—relationships, emotions, finances, ministry. Yet as we shared, the Spirit reminded us: what we build in our own strength will never last.

When God does it, it’s permanent.
When we do it, it’s temporary.

And as one sister reminded us, “Everything God gives comes with peace.”
We can stop performing for provision and instead rest in His promise.

Learning to Be Naked Before God

In the latter part of our gathering, the Lord shifted the room into a deep and raw place.
He invited us to be naked before Him—not physically, but spiritually and emotionally.

Many of us realised how often we hide behind our strength, busyness, or ministry. We discussed how for some, it’s hard even to identify emotions—especially if we grew up in homes where feelings were ignored or suppressed. But healing begins when we stop pretending and start confessing.

“There is beauty in admittance,” one woman said, “and freedom in confession.”

God isn’t intimidated by our honesty. He already knows what’s in us—but He wants us to bring it into His light.

Addressing the Mind Battles

The Holy Spirit revealed that many are fighting mental warfare—racing thoughts, inner voices of condemnation, or generational patterns of instability and fear.
These are not random attacks; they are indicators of the mantle we carry and the bloodlines we’re breaking.

We were encouraged to trace the patterns in our families—to look at what runs in our lineage: mental health struggles, divorces, silence, or isolation—and to understand that God is calling us to stand in the gap and bring healing to our generation.

“This is not light work,” came the prophetic reminder.
“You are generational curse breakers.”

Together, we prayed for renewed minds, for deliverance from tormenting thoughts, and for peace to rest over every home.

The God Who Sits With Us

What followed was one of the most powerful moments of the session—a prayer that touched the rawest parts of womanhood:

• For those who are tired of surviving in silence.

• For those holding trauma in their bodies.

• For those who serve others yet battle quietly in their own minds.

• For those who minister powerfully in public but collapse in private.

The Spirit reminded us that God sits with us in the low places.
He doesn’t rush us out of them—He proves that He’s there in the middle of them.
Even when our prayers are tears, whispers, or silence, He intercedes for us.

“There is nowhere He cannot reach you—on the mountain high or in the valley low.”

Healing Is Both Spiritual and Practical

We were encouraged to see healing as whole: spirit, soul, and body.
For some, this meant reclaiming simple rhythms of care—eating, resting, washing, or cleaning a space that has felt neglected.
For others, it meant anointing their rooms, speaking Scripture over their homes, or asking for professional help and support.

Every act of tending to ourselves becomes a declaration:

“I am still here, and God is still with me.”

A Charge for the Week Ahead

1. Be honest — Bring your unfiltered self before God.

2. Be aware — Notice the cycles in your mind and lineage.

3. Be accountable — Share in safe community; let someone pray with you.

4. Be practical — Care for your body as an act of worship.

5. Be still — God is not asking you to perform; He’s asking you to rest in His truth.

A Prayer for Renewal

Father, we bring before You our minds, our emotions, and our weariness.
Expose what needs to be healed.
Break every generational pattern that distorts our thinking.
Restore joy where laughter has gone missing.
Let Your light invade the dark places,
and let every woman reading this know: she is not alone.
You are the God who sits with us, stabilizes us, and makes us whole again.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.