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
So as I read this passage my initial thought was, “do not be afraid, you prayer has been heard.” It is a basic, universal theme that is so often forgotten. But that was only my initial thought…
My second thought was this, “hmm, so I bet that when Zechariah prayed for a son, John the Baptist was not what he had in mind!!” Perhaps a son that would be able to provide for him and Elizabeth in their old age was more what he was thinking; but a locust-eating, hair-shirt wearing wilderness guy, probably not!
John was however, exactly who God needed him to be. He was the answer to prayer in God’s time and for God’s purpose. What a gift John was. The answer to prophecy, the “one to come before the one”.
So I invite you to wonder – if the answer to our prayers isn’t the answer that we wanted, are we open to the fact that it is the answer God has provided, and recognize that God is at work in all things?
“Dear God, we will work to remember that you do hear our prayers. Help us to find peace as we wait for You to answer them, and understanding when those answers are in Your time and in Your way. Amen”
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