In Luke 1,
we are introduced to a priest named Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth. It says that “Both of them were righteous in
the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they
were both very old” (verses 6-7). That
last part about them not having a child is significant. That was a big deal back then.
One day when
Zachariah was serving at the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared and said, “Zechariah;
your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you
are to call him John” (verse 13).
The part
that I find interesting here is that Gabriel says, “Your prayer has been
heard”. When was that prayer
prayed? There are only two options and both of them
having something to teach us.
It could be
that they were still praying for a child even though they were well past the
normal child-bearing age. Maybe the
prayer that is being answered is one that Zachariah prayed that morning. If that is the case, I am amazed! It is easy to pray for something one
time. It is a little less easy to keep
praying for something when you do not see the answer immediately. It is another thing to “always pray and not
give up” as Jesus encouraged us to do (see Luke 18:1). If it is true that they just kept praying and
praying, even though it looked hopeless and then God answered their prayer,
then that is a good story. I suspect,
though, that is not what happened.
It is more
likely that they prayed and prayed for years and then, when it seemed like it
would not and could not happen, they simply gave up. Look at Zachariah’s reaction to the announcement. He says, “How can I be sure of this? I am an
old man and my wife is well along in years” (verse 18). To me, that does not sound like the response
of a man who had prayed for a baby just that morning. It is completely possible that God was answering
the prayer that they quit praying twenty years ago.
The truth
is that God does things in his own way and in his own time. Isaiah 55 tells us that God’s thoughts are
not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways.
In other words, things will happen when God thinks they ought to happen,
regardless of what I think the plan and timing ought to be.
So if you
have been praying and praying for something and have not seen the answer yet,
don’t give up. Maybe the best answer
will come when you least expect it.
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