“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.” Luke 1:13 NIV
No double- line stick for Elizabeth to give the news “You’re pregnant!” Instead, an angel comes to Zechariah while on duty at the temple.
It’s clear that this couple poured some serious prayers on the matter of having children. Yet, why did Zechariah not leap for joy like a gazelle upon the answered prayer?
Maybe he responded like most of us. We stamp our prayers with an expiration date just like the milk jug in our fridge. I can’t blame Zechariah for stopping praying for a baby once his wife hit menopause! But this passage has some great reminders for us:
God hears our prayers
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14 NIV
Maybe you believe the devil’s lies “you’re forgotten”, “you’re punished”, “your problems don’t matter”. In spite of the feelings you’re wrestling with, the fact is He hears us even when His timing is different than ours.
God can’t be put in a box.
God often does things in an unorthodox way.
John the Baptiser was born to a “retired” couple. Jesus’s delivery room was a barn. The Creator of everything was born into a family not having much (all they could afford for offering was doves, or pigeons (Luke 2:24) ). God sent birthday invitations to smelly shepherds.
My husband and I also prayed once to have kids. Ten years later God answered our prayer. But the package our kids came in was very different. Not biological children, but heartological ones through adoption. Not a small infant, but two talking, potty-trained ones. (It was a win-win)
God can’t be put in a box when we pray. We shall pray with expectancy, but also with the openness that it may look different than what we’d imagined.
What prayers have I quit praying for?
In our morning Bible Time with the girls, we decided to revisit the prayers we each stopped praying for. We extended their expiration date. We chose to pray for the friend we don’t see changes in; for daily discipline even if we often miss the target; for the war to end although it seems never-ending; for us to experience God’s surprising joy when daily problems overwhelm us.
But what if you don’t feel like praying?
Growing up we had a saying in Romanian “pofta vine mâncând”, the appetite comes with the eating. In C.S. Lewis’ words “The more I pray, the more I want to pray. The more I read my Bible, the more I want to read.”
We must be a praying Christian. “Prayerlessness is our Declaration Of Independence from God”. So, let’s persevere in prayer. Life on our own is impossible.
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 NLT