So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a door post of the temple of the LORD.
All Commentaries on 1 Samuel 1:9 Go To 1 Samuel 1
John Chrysostom
AD 407
You see, just as a widow who is destitute and all alone, much abused and wronged, will often not be alarmed at the imminent triumphal procession of emperor, bodyguards, shield bearers, horses, and all the rest of his advance retinue, but without need of a patron will brush past them all and with great confidence accost the emperor, exaggerating her own situation under pressure of her sense of need, so too this woman was not embarrassed, was not ashamed, though the priest was sitting there, to make her request in person and with great confidence approach the king. Instead, under the impulse of desire and in her mind ascending to heaven as though she saw God himself, she addressed him this way with complete ardor.