Following news of the defeat, Joshua and the elders of Israel tear their clothes and lie face down in front of the Ark of the Covenant, and following that, Joshua prays to God bemoaning his people's lowered moral, vulnerability to attack, and possible extermination. Hannah In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah prays for a child. 1 Samuel 1:13 says that "Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard" (NIV). The priest Eli thinks that she is drunk, but Hannah protests her innocence. After Hannah gives birth to a son, Samuel, she prays a prayer which is recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1–10. This is normally called the Song of Hannah, but according to 1 Samuel 2:1, it is a prayer. Eugene Peterson suggests that to Eli, the "normal way of prayer" was "by means of ritual, incense, and animal sacrifice, a gathering of the community directed by a priest." Hannah is "soaring past all the liturgical conventions of her age... She uses her own words, her own voice, without intermediaries." Organized prayer Organized prayer is first introduced in the Hebrew Bible in Deuteronomy, when the recitation of prayer over the fruit-bringing sacrifice is mandated, and liturgy is thereby established for the first time. Moses mandates that one who goes to offer the sacrifice recite a basic creed, declaring his people's heritage and history, as well as a prayer of thanks to God for the fruits they have harvested. Moses also requires Israelites to, at certain times, recite a declaration saying they have not transgressed any of the mitzvot. See also Prayer in the New Testament References Hebrew Bible topics Prayer