Picking Up Where We Left Off: Learning from Zechariah

from June 2022

Being Made in God’s Image

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Picking Up Where We Left Off: Learning from Zechariah

by Sandra Gilmore

He just stood there, stunned, overwhelmed. Nothing he had ever known compared to the entity before him. Nothing he had ever heard compared to the words spoken. From this other-worldly being came an other-worldly message: your prayer was heard. Zechariah was a priest who had even married into another priestly family. The family business, so to speak, was prayer. He was surrounded by prayers, prayers for High Holy Days, for his community, for his nation, for adoration and praise, for supplication and petition, for thanksgiving, for intercession. That’s what brought him to the holy place that day. It would have been expected, would have even made sense for Zechariah to reply, “Which prayer?” And yet, as the story flows from Luke chapter one, Zechariah seems to know precisely which one. Of all the prayers, he knew this Messenger appeared “to the right of the altar” specifically for the one most tender to Zechariah’s heart. The Greek allows for even more context in translation: it implies the prayer was one that wasn’t even prayed anymore, longshelved without a hint much less a harvest. Could it be Elizabeth’s husband had forgotten he prayed it? Maybe, except we know from Elizabeth’s musings, she had not forgotten the prayer. She—and in turn, he—was reminded daily of the presence of children in the lives of others by the aching absence of children in their own lives. No baby clothes hanging on the line repeatedly during the week. No extra meals to prepare for younger folks in the household. No small chairs or beds among the furnishings. No milestones to discuss over the fence to the neighbor. No further investment in a once-enthusiastically offered prayer. We associate this story with the Christmas story. Have you been following this series? Check each month as we explore often-overlooked connections to this sacred event and wind our way back to Christmas. Before the tinsel, lights, stockings, and trinkets, there was a prayer. Before the tax edict, before the long ride to Bethlehem, before shepherds and the manger, there was a prayer. And the interesting thing about that prayer was, it’s quite possible, it had been set aside. Do you quit praying after a while? When natural evidence says the prayer won’t be answered, when logic speaks otherwise, when your heart loses hope?

Check your reason for quitting. Was it you or the Lord who told you to cease your petition? If it was your own logic or fatigue, pick up that prayer again and keep going. It’s not too late. It may have been stifled, shelved, or shuffled around in your heart, but not in heaven!

Before you chide yourself too harshly, remember it’s hard to live supernaturally in a natural world. How do we keep focused on not only the long-awaited answer but on the Answer-er? If this were a complicated process based on multiple segments with accompanying printed logos on attire, journals, and coffee mugs, folks might be more inclined to participate. It’s rather direct and straightforward: study the Word. Collect examples of prayers and prayer patterns. Find encouragement from diligent pray-ers who didn’t give up. Or maybe you can relate to those who weren’t so diligent and had to pick up from where they left off like Zechariah. Although his prayer seemed to center in their household, the answer (their son John the Baptist) impacted the world. Your prayers are also part of a design set in motion by the Grand Designer. Only God knows the potential they hold. Stand in faith and keep praying!

About The Author Sandra Gilmore serves the Lord as wife, mom, and encourager, mostly through writing and speaking, occasionally through cooking, rarely through anything athletic and only because of the mercy and grace of Jesus. You can reach her by email: tandsgilmore@yahoo.com or her website: www.sandragilmore.org

Faith Haven

Christian Academy

Faith Haven is an accredited, independent, non-denominational Christian school serving grades PreK through fifth grade. Our mission is to foster a safe and encouraging environment—an atmosphere that enhances the holistic growth of students: intellectual, physical, artistic, and spiritual.