And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish…And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!" 1 Samuel 1:10, 12-14

Does this sound a little familiar? Do you remember that on Pentecost the onlookers thought the disciples were drunk as they praised the Lord, albeit in tongues? Godly Hanna had a similar experience as she prayed, weeping in anguish.

This does not mean that only prayers and/or praise that are legitimate make believers look as if they are inebriated! There are a couple of lessons however.

First, there are times when believers can be overcome with extreme emotion when praising or praying to the Lord. Why? (a) Because we are emotional beings (granted, some more so, some less). (b) And although this is not always the case, believers can become overwhelmed by the Lord. He is so holy and so great; and there may be times when we are either praising Him or crying out to Him that we can be overcome. If or when that happens, let us not do so for show, but let us thank the Lord for being so real!

Second, there are times when those who do not share our faith will think we are—well, a bit crazy. Jesus’ own family thought He was “out of His mind” (Mark 3:21 & 31). Yet no one was ever more sane than Jesus!