Luke 1:13 (New International Version)
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”
The book of Luke begins with the Christmas story—first with the birth of John the Baptist, and then with the birth of Messiah, Jesus. Here we see John’s father, Zechariah, childless and of an old age, chosen by lot to burn incense in the inner temple. It is here that he encounters an angel of the Lord. The angel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard, his prayer for a child, the prayer he prayed long ago as a young man. The prayer he no longer prays. In fact, Zechariah challenges the angel, asking how this could possibly be true. He is too old, the prayer itself is from long ago, and the time for the prayer to be fulfilled has seemingly passed. But, the angel says that the prayer Zechariah no longer prays has been heard and answered. In fact, Zechariah’s name itself means, “God has remembered.”
What prayers have you lost hope for? What prayers do you no longer pray? I pray that you will know that your prayers are heard and remembered by God today. I pray that the resurrection God will resurrect hope in you for intervention now, and that you will see miracles beyond your wildest expectation. God, we pray for fruitfulness where there once was barrenness. Thank you for being a God who remembers the prayers that we have left behind.
1. Is there a prayer that you no longer pray because you have given up hope? Can you relate to how skeptical Zechariah felt in that moment, in his “old age?”
2. Is there any prayer you feel that God wants to resurrect and bring to life again? I pray that He will guide your prayers and fill you with hope for new breakthrough.
No comments:
Post a Comment