Come with me, if you will, to the land of Israel in the year 4BC or thereabouts. God’s chosen people were not in a good place at this time. Their land was occupied by the Romans and there was a puppet king on the throne who was not even a Jew. To make matters worse, the heavens were silent; there had been no word from God for more than 400 years. People were still going through the motions of religion but hardships and disappointments had hardened many hearts and for most of them God probably seemed a very distant figure. The religious leaders of the day did not set a good example. Some compromised their beliefs to collaborate with the Roman rulers, while others were legalistic, self-righteous and judgemental. None of them spoke or acted with the zeal and power of the prophets of old. Nevertheless, there were still a few people in the nation who hung on to God’s promise of a Messiah, who worshipped faithfully at the temple and sought to live godly lives in obedience to the Law of Moses.
Among the faithful few were an elderly priest, named Zechariah (or Zacharias), and his wife, Elizabeth. Their lives had been extra hard because they had no children, which was considered a disgrace in their culture. We can be sure that they had prayed long and hard for a child and shed many tears over it, but now they were resigned to their fate. Elizabeth was not only barren but past the age of childbearing and their hope had long since died. However, they had not allowed their disappointment to turn them away from God. They were still walking in His ways (v.6).
Little did this faithful couple know it but God was about to break His silence and they would be directly involved. It happened on a very special day in Zechariah’s life when he was the priest chosen, from many hundreds of candidates, to perform a special duty in the temple. He had been given the once-in-a-lifetime responsibility of sprinkling incense on the altar and interceding for the people of Israel. This most sacred part of the service took place behind the curtain in the Holy Place. It was while he was there that an angel appeared to him and told him that he and Elizabeth would have a son.
Wow! Put yourself in Zechariah’s shoes for a moment. His priestly role at the incense altar was daunting enough, but then he saw this terrifying supernatural being, who not only gave him incredible news on a personal level, but also spoke of the fulfilment of prophecies given to the nation centuries earlier. Not surprisingly Zechariah found it hard to believe what the angel told him.
What is clear is that all those anguished prayers that Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed – prayers that appeared to have fallen on deaf ears – had been heard after all and were being answered. God was giving them a son! A son whose name was to be John, which means “God’s gift”, or “The Lord has shown favour”.
It may be that you are in a season of waiting right now. You may have been praying for years about something that concerns you, with no sign of an answer. You may feel that God is a long way away. Let this scripture be an encouragement to you. Life does not always work out the way we want it to but, if you have been praying about something for a long time without seeing any change, it does not mean that God is unaware or does not care. The way the angel spoke to Zechariah shows that He knows each one of us individually and personally. When we pray He does hear us. Know that God sees your pain, He knows the desires of your heart and that if you put your trust in Him He will not let you down.
Psalm 38:9 (ESV) “O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you hear the cries of my heart. Thank you that you will never forget or abandon me. When I walk through dark times help me to keep trusting you and believing in your promises.
Amen.
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
Jill Partis
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author’s name and website address are included at the end of the article. Thank you.
Leave a Reply