Answered Prayers - Monday December 01, 2014
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth." Luke 1:12-14 ESV
The first chapter of Luke tells the story of a priest named Zechariah. The Bible describes him and his wife Elizabeth as "righteous before God" and "walking blamelessly in the commands of God." But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren and they were getting older.
My wife and I have had dear friends over the years who couldn't have children. This has been a difficult trial in their lives. I would guess that Zechariah and Elizabeth's childlessness caused many tears and prayers over the years in their lives too. Zechariah gets chosen by lot to enter the temple and burn incense. Maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity! While Zechariah is in the temple, the extraordinary occurs. An angel of God appears and speaks to him!
In my own quiet time, I was struck by verse 13. How many times did Zechariah pray about their childlessness? How many years of discouragement and how many tears were shed over this? And the first words out of the angel's mouth were, "Your prayers have been heard!"
God challenged me with this verse. "Josh, right now, in your discouragements and trials, pray!" Christians, what are the things that are weighing you down today? Pray right now, take them to God, for years and through tears if need be. And may we all look forward in faith to the day God says to us, "Your prayers have been heard!"
Submitted by:
Josh Whitney
The Rock Church
Salt Lake City, Utah
One-Year Reading Plan:
Daniel 8:1-27
1 John 2:1-17
Psalms 120:1-7
Proverbs 28:25-26
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.