"But the angel said "Don't be afraid, Zechariah, God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John." (Luke 1:13 NLT)
I’ve read this account countless times and never before had I caught it: Zechariah was praying for a son!
We don’t know if these were current prayers – was he believing for an adoption opportunity or an old-age miracle? Or were these parenthood prayers of previous seasons? We do know that His prayers were answered in the temple that day. Zechariah has prayed for a son and the God of heaven was delighted to fulfill the request.
We can gain a few great insights about prayer from this interaction:
* It Is acceptable and even encouraged to pray audacious/impossible prayers. This is especially true when they are in keeping with God’s command and character. Praying for children is obedient to God’s instructions: be fruitful and multiply.
* Prayer has no expiration date. Whether Zechariah prayed for a son that very morning or two decades prior, prayer doesn’t go bad. We needn’t sort through the leftovers and pitch the things past their prime. Prayer stays before the Father as a sweet incense. We may move on and forget, but God never does. Our requests are dear to His heart and He delights in their fulfillment.
* Prayer puts us in the will of God. When we agree with the promise of scripture, we open our lives up to His Kingdom purpose. Not only did Zechariah receive his son, his son was big part of God’s plan. When we pray and surrender to God’s perfect will, we often gain a front row seat to the divine plan unfolding. Zechariah and Elizabeth got to raise a prophet. Participating in the miraculous does not mean it will be easy, but it does promise to be rewarding.
"May my prayer be set before you like incense, may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (Psalm 141:2 NLT)
Lord, today we see anew how valuable our prayers are to You. It’s encouraging to know our prayers are precious and have no expiration. We are grateful that we can bring every kind of request to Your attention, even the wild ones. And we are trusting that our prayers, in keeping with Your scriptures, will pull us toward Your perfect will. We want to live for You consistently and completely. Amen.