(11) And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
God is pleased, sometimes, that we should be particular in our askings. See Isaiah 45:11; John 16:24. The dedication of this man-child, which Hannah prayed for to God, as a Nazarite, perhaps was taken from Hannah's knowledge of the story of Samson. There was some similarity in the cases. Samson was a child of promise, and Samuel a child of prayer. See Judges 13:1.