Luke 1.13 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.” – the angel Gabriel (ESV)
Last night I sat and talked with my friend about people –
our favorite topic. Now lest you think we were just gossiping and self-righteously
judging, please think again – we weren’t. Truth. People are hurt and hurting
and the last thing they need is a couple self-righteous jerks piling on. We had
had ‘lunch’ earlier in the day and talked of the church, the Kingdom, and
people. We talked about people’s needs and desires and how they seem to want to
trust God more, but the circumstances of life smack up against their
preconceived notions, and often times disappointment and bitterness set in and
God seems further and further away; like He’s busy off somewhere else in the
universe and has forgotten all about them.
Well, this morning I read about the priest Zechariah, in
Luke 1. The narrative tells us that this priest, and his wife Elizabeth, was
faithful and a blameless Jew – in other words, his heart was in it. Luke’s
account also states that they were older and childless. Without going into all
the details of the social stigma of all that in that culture, let’s just say Zechariah
was bothered by the fact they had no kids and it looked like his chances of
having one were slim to none.
And so, when the angel Gabriel arrived at Zechariah’s job
one day and said: …your prayer has been
heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name
John.; we can safely infer that Zechariah had been asking God for the
miracle of a child. Of his own. From his wife. And probably for a long, long time.
What I thought about this morning was that simple
statement: your prayer has been heard.
I’m sure there were times when that prayer was fervent. I’m guessing there were
other times when that prayer was desperate. And I suppose there were times when
all Zechariah could do was lift up nothing but exasperation to Heaven: God, are You even there!?
God doesn’t need a hearing aid. God hears perfectly and
completely the first time we mention whatever is on our heart. As a matter of
fact God knows what is on our heart long before we even think of it; from
eternity past He has known. Where I think the issue is, is are we fully engaged in the process? God’s delays aren’t His lack of hearing, maybe
it’s just that God is looking for where our heart is in the matter. Are we like
the saints of old: blameless?
Father, You do hear prayer; You hear it the first time,
and You answer prayer. You don’t always do it according to our timetable. But
You do hear the prayers we lift to You and You do answer. Help the delays to my
prayers to build my faith and grow my character. Help the delays to solidify my
love for You and undergird my expectations of Who You are and what You do.
Thank You for answering my prayers – even the ones I’ve prayed just now. I need
You. Amen.
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