Scripture:

“Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:36-38

Focus: Hope

These short three verses in the Bible hold out much hope for us. Here is a woman who was married for only seven years when her husband died. Rather than living in misery and despondency, Anna chose instead to live a life to glorify God. She walked so closely with God that when Mary and Joseph arrived in the temple to present the baby Jesus, Anna recognized Jesus as the redemption of Jerusalem. She had the privilege of looking upon the Savior and knowing Him.

I can only wonder how many people’s lives Anna touched. How many young mothers and widows might she have encouraged in her lifetime because of her close walk with her God?

During this time of Advent, take some time to reflect on a disappointment or life change you may have suffered. How are you handling this? Are you allowing God to use this in your life, or have you become bitter over it?  Pray and ask Him to open your spiritual eyes, as He did Anna’s and look for ways that God can use this disappointment for good.

Prayer: Dear Lord,

We pray for the spiritual eyes to see how you can use our disappointments, life changes and even tragedies to bring about good. Help us to trust you to bring a blessing out of them, and make us wiling to be used. Amen.

Pray on!

“And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.’” Luke 1:41-45 NKJV

Focus:

Let’s look today at Elizabeth’s place in preparing our hearts for Christmas. It was particularly hard on a woman to be barren in the Jewish culture. You see, the Jews considered children to be a sign of God’s favor on a couple and His displeasure if you could not have children. We know that God was not displeased with Zecharias and Elizabeth because  God tells us in Luke 1:6 that both Elizabeth and her husband Zacharias were righteous, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But Elizabeth’s contemporaries did not have the benefit of the scripture.

She probably suffered for years over their inability to have children. I wonder how many sideways glances or snide comments she had to endure.

Yet, God had a very special plan in mind for this couple. But it had to be the right timing. Elizabeth remained faithful through all those difficult years without knowing that she would bear a son who would prepare the hearts of the people for the Messiah. What an honor she had!

Let this encourage us when we feel that we are tired of waiting for what we are praying for. Keep lifting up that wayward child in prayer. Keep praying for that long awaited child. Keep asking the Lord for healing. Keep seeking God for a new job. What unanswered prayer have you lost hope for? Be open to God’s timing and how He wants to work in your life. Is there something bigger at stake God is trying to show you? Is He trying to change more than what you’re praying for? Maybe something at the very core of you? Let Him do His work in your life and remember that some prayers take a lifetime to birth! Some we may see right away, and others maybe not this side of heaven. But don’t give up!

Prayer: Dear Lord,

We pray for the perseverance to be faithful to You no matter what our circumstances may look like. Help us to remember that your timing preempts our timing. May we keep praying, keep believing, keep loving. Amen.

Pray on!

Lately it seems that I am being challenged on my expectations for my prayers. To be more specific, I am praying, but am I really expecting God to work through my prayers? I’ve heard several teachings on authority in prayer, a theme that has been repeating itself at church, in prayer meeting and in my devotional readings. I know from past experience that when I keep hearing the same theme repeatedly that I need to pay attention. God is trying to teach me something!

What I am hearing lately is that Jesus had to go back to heaven to be with His Father for a very important reason:  so that the Holy Spirit could come and fill each believer on earth. Jesus was only one person and while on earth was limited to the number of people He could reach. But once He returned to heaven, God put into the action the next phase of His plan–and that is filling and equipping believers (that’s you and me) with His Holy Spirit. God is using us to spread His message to the ends of the earth. Let’s consider some of Jesus’ amazing words to us before He left this earth.

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14: 12-14

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
John 16:7

Those are powerful words. Have your ever let them sink in to your mind? Jesus really said that we were to do even greater works than what He did. Do we take Him at His word on this? In other words, when I am praying, do I believe that God will work through my prayers?

So many things to consider here …. In the next blog post, I want to explore this topic further. Until then …

Pray on!

Has your mind ever wandered while you were praying only to realize that you had no idea of what you were saying? God wants our prayers to be meaningful and heartfelt! To do the study “You’re So Vain” please click on the link!

We are always encouraged when someone tells us that they prayed for us last night. Imagine how we’d feel if someone told us that they pray for us non-stop! Please click on the link to do the Bible study “Pray Without Ceasing.”

Do you ever wonder if your prayers make a difference? You have no idea how important your prayers are to the future of your family, friends and nation. Please click on the link for the “Study Because You Prayed.”