Anna’s Bio

9/19/2009

Luke 2:37b b “She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.” New American Standard Bible

Psalm 27.4 says this, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” That verse sums up the life of Anna daughter of Phanuel, who is presented to us in Luke 2 (btw, Phanuel means, face of God). Anna had it right, she allowed the world to pass her by so she could spend her days in fastings and prayers; and you know what, God revealed Himself to her!

We ought to learn a lesson from Anna. We ought to see that God probably used a traumatic circumstance in her life (the death of her husband) to get her attention and she fell in love with the Lord and He eased her pain to the point that seeking Him became her lifelong lifestyle. Wow. Maybe those weird, difficult or confusing circumstances in our own lives are directed by Him to accomplish the same thing…

I have fallen in love with the message of Psalm 27.4. My life is more tangled and messed up than it has ever been, but in the midst of it I am learning to sneak away every chance I get into His presence leaving the world to roll on so that I can behold His beauty and think about His glories and allow my thoughts to feast on His goodness to me – a lowly little sheep way out in Baker, Oregon. Anna’s bio serves as a reminder to me of what’s important and where I need to be night and every day with fasting and praying…

Father in Heaven,

You look for all of Your children, the infrequent and the regulars, to come and spend time in Your Temple. And somehow You’ve made it like an investment – the more time we spend the greater the return. May that be the case in my life more and more; may I dwell in Your Temple all this day, seeking Your phanuel and thinking about Your glories – I pray it all because Jesus makes it possible – in His Name, amen.