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But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.

This story of persevering in prayer sent me searching for something I remembered reading about George Mueller. I found it on the GeorgeMuller.org website:

​”In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.
​
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).”

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ 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. 

‘Sometimes regular duty provides the context for extraordinary visions.’ Tom Wright: ‘Luke for everyone’, p.7.

‘Prayers of faith are filed in heaven, and are not forgotten, though the thing prayed for is not presently given…’ Matthew Henry.

Jesus taught the necessity of persevering in prayer (e.g. Lk.11:1-13; 18:1-8). How long had Zechariah and Elizabeth been praying, we wonder?

Gabriel’s words to Zechariah may refer to his prayers, as a priest, for the salvation of his nation. If so, these prayers, along with those of many others, had been heard. Deliverance was about to come in the form of the Messiah. However, I believe the most natural way to understand them is in relation to his – no doubt their – prayer for a child.

Tom Wright comments:

‘This story, preparing us for the even more remarkable conception and birth of Jesus himself, reminds us of something important. God regularly works through ordinary people, doing what they normally do, who with a mixture of half-faith and devotion are holding themselves ready for whatever God has in mind.’ (pp.7,8).

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

It is quite some years ago that our church held its first ‘house party’. We came away from it though, having no doubt about the guest preacher’s main theme. He kept repeating it through the week-end: ‘Things can change!’ It sort of became part of the vocabulary of the church for a time afterwards, and we would remind one another, ‘Things can change!’

‘Things’ were about to change for Zechariah and Elizabeth – big time. For years they had longed for a baby of their own, but biology had been against them. Now age was. But when they got to be old enough to be grand-parents, they found they were about to become ‘dad’ and ‘mum’.

Yes, ‘things can change!’

Please understand me, I’m not saying we have a blueprint here for everyone who wants a baby. There are people who have longed for children of their own who never received the miracle they so earnestly sought. Although we find stories like Zechariah and Elizabeth’s in a number of places in the Bible, I know it doesn’t always happen. Only God knows why.

But let’s hold on to the principle that, with God, ‘Things can change.’

‘Prayer changes things.’

But even in those times when nothing seems to change at all, prayer can change me, and maybe that is more important.

God may not always give the thing asked (although He regularly does), but He will always give the grace to face the circumstances we are called to accept.

 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

The burning of incense is emblematic of prayer.

While Zechariah was ministering inside the temple, God’s people were praying outside – and something happened! I’m not saying it will always be an extraordinary or spectacular thing that will occur, but we Christians need to understand that our prayers can make a material difference to what happens in the services, and in the ministries of those who lead. When Charles Spurgeon, often dubbed ‘the prince of preachers’ was asked the secret of his great success, he replied, ‘My people pray for me.’

I understand that someone was asked about the most important lessons he had ever learned. He replied, ‘Number one, pray! Number two, pray! Number three, pray!’

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 

‘It is a happy thing when those who are joined to each other in marriage are both joined to the Lord.‘ Matthew Henry.

There is something very powerful and precious about a married Christian couple seeking first God’s Kingdom together.

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labour:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

But, of course, this principle doesn’t just apply to ‘marrieds’. Think about the potential of prayer partnerships. Also, what about close spiritual friendships, where people bond in a common commitment to Christ, help each other along the way, and hold one another accountable?

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Mt.18:19,20).

I’m aware that in Christ’s church, some have the calling of marriage and others receive the call to singleness, and I’m not arguing that one state is superior to another. I’m also conscious that, not so much by calling, more by force of circumstances, there are many people who find themselves alone. Nevertheless, the principle of ‘Both of them’ can be applicable in various ways within the church family. We can all know the power and beauty and strength of Christian fellowship.

PRAYER: Lord, may no-one in your church feel friendless. Forgive us if we allow any to be lonely. Help us to nurture strong communities of togetherness.

 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 

In just a few verses time, we are going to read some words of the angel Gabriel concerning John:

… he will be great in the sight of the Lord. (15).

The godly Scottish preacher, Robert Murray McCheyne said, ‘What a man is on his knees, before God, that he is and nothing more.’

Similarly, someone observed that ‘Character is what you are in the dark.’ It’s what we are when no-one else is looking.

Most of our lives are hidden to others: our desires, motivations, ambitions, etc. But ”Thou God seest me” (Gn.16:13).

People may judge, or misjudge us, but God knows our hearts, and we are ultimately answerable to Him. Who we are before Him is what matters most.

Jesus said to some religious leaders in His day:

… you gladly honour each other, but you don’t care about the honour that comes from the one who alone is God (John 5:44 NLT).

PRAYER: Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps.139:23,24).

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. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had a heartache. They were ”childless”, and lived in a culture that saw such a situation as meaning you were out of favour with God. That very much was not the case (see verse 6), but no doubt they felt the stigma…

…and the pain. Both biology and age were against them. Even as Zechariah served God, I imagine he was bleeding internally

Many of God’s choicest servants have ‘walked with a limp’, if I may put it that way, and yet have found His strength made perfect in their weakness.

God said this about His Son, the Messiah, through Isaiah the prophet:

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. (53:3).

We may not understand why we have to go through griefs and losses and reversals, and so on, but in it all Jesus is ”familiar” with our pain. In a short piece I read recently, the writer reminded his readers that when Jesus came back from the dead, it was as a glorified wounded human-being. The risen Jesus still bears the marks of suffering in His body.

He knows, and He cares, and He understands as no other can.

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. 

‘Every life has a story, every story has a writer, and God’s writing is perfect.’

God is the great Author, and He writes remarkable stories with human lives. As a good friend observed, when my life took an unexpected twist and turn, ‘Well, it’s not a script I could have written for you!’ What fascinating plotlines the Lord comes up with, as He writes our individual stories into the greater story of what He is doing in history.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were to find themselves leading actors in a divine storyline. God wrote them into His play. We might say they were ‘support cast’, and not the ‘stars’ of chapter 1. But they were to play their parts well, and it is possible to receive an award for ‘best supporting actor.’

Your life is not an autobiography; it is a biography written by grace.

‘Note to self: God is still writing your story. Stop trying to steal the pen.’

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. 

I seem to remember David Pawson commenting that the Christmas story is about two babies, not one, and Luke shows, from the beginning of his gospel, how the lives and ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus overlapped.

‘The careful structuring and interweaving of the stories indicates that John was a significant person whose birth was part of God’s plan and that Jesus was an even greater person than his predecessor. The story contains many echoes of the OT which show that God’s new acts were in harmony with his earlier mighty acts for his people and also in fulfilment of prophecy. The various supernatural occurrences recorded also mark out the two infants as God’s servant and Son respectively.’ I.H. Marshall: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.981.

At one time, many scholars questioned just how accurate a historian Luke was. But over the years, the good doctor has been repeatedly vindicated by numerous archaeological findings. Having stated in the opening verses his commitment to producing an accurate account, here he is earthing John’s story in a particular historical moment.