My, Devotion to Him #64
VERSE PASSAGE: Luke 1:18 “Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” – NIV
To be better understand this passage we are going to go backwards and fill in the blanks for you and find out who is Zechariah and who is his wife?
VERSE PASSAGE: Luke 1:5 “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.” – NIV
Okay so you might be wondering what is this about?
VERSE PASSAGE: Luke 1:11-13 “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 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.” – NIV
Okay so now that we know who these two people are and the reason for this story let’s continue. Zachariah and Elizabeth were righteous people and were blameless as we see in Luke 1:6. Now this couple had prayer for a child for many years. They were disappointed and frustrated that they were now up in age and yet still without child. However they continued to serve the Lord in everything they did and then the Lord finally answered their prayers and sent His angel to announce the good news.
Okay so end of story right? Not exactly. Let’s continue.
Now something I want to look at is Zachariah’s reaction. Go back to the top and read Luke 1:18. He couldn’t believe it! The very thing that he had been praying for was granted and he doubted that it was true. In Zachariah’s case he received his miracle anyway. Perhaps his wife’s faith pulled him through. He even went as far as to question how this would be done because of their age.
Some of us may be praying for the right things. We may even be sincere and earnest, but would you be surprised if those prayers were suddenly answered today? Have you made preparations for your prayers to be answered? Are you willing to accept them without question?
VERSE PASSAGE: Luke 1:19-20 “The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” – NIV
You see Zachariah thought the prayer request was impossible. He didn’t believe it would be answered. Because now that it was being told it would be answered he questioned how is this possible you know that I am old and so is my wife. Zachariah automatically placed limits on Gods power and his belief in God was limited. But! Instead of canceling a pregnancy. The Angel announced that he would from this point not be able to speak until his wife had their child.
Why do we pray for God to do something and then when He shows up on the scene we doubt it. We question it. We ask “how could this be?”. When will we accept the answers we get for God?
Right now, imagine how you would feel or what you would do if the answer to your prayers was manifested this very minute. Then, as much as possible begin to think and act that way. You’ll find out that your whole attitude will change as you focus on your answer instead of the problem. Do not think about how this will be answered because of this and that. Do not think your request is an impossibility! Do not try and limit the power of God as you are only limiting how much He can do for you. Because you are of little faith.
Zachariah’s problem was he did not expect the unexpected. He prayed for a child but he did not expect to get a child. We need to expect our unexpected prayers to be answered!
Today make the fresh start of believing that you are receiving your prayer request! You are not worried about how it’s getting answered but that it is getting answered!
Bless you my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus
Related Devotion by order:
Expect The Unexpected
Copyright © 2017 by Jacob D. Olinger
Spirit Warrior Ministry 