Your Prayer Has Been Heard: How God Meets Us in Seasons of Weariness and WaitingSample

Zechariah wasn't the only person to question an angel's message. Mary also received a visit from the same angel, Gabriel. She also asked a question when told she would have a baby. But there's a crucial difference between Mary’s question and Zacharias's question.

Mary asked, "How can this be…since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34 NIV) Zechariah asked, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” (Luke 1:18 NLT)

Both of these people asked questions, but only Zechariah was made mute for ten months. What's the difference? There's a big difference between saying to God, "I don't understand how You will" versus "I don't think You can."

If I were to paraphrase their responses, Mary's question reflected genuine wrestling: "I don't understand how You're going to do this, but I believe You can." Zechariah's question reflected sinful doubt: "I don't think You can do this."

When you've been praying about something for years and you don't sense that God is hearing or answering, three questions tend to bubble up: "Does God hear me? Does God care? Is God real?"

These concerns are reflected in Zechariah's question. And if we're honest, they're probably questions we've wrestled with too. When prayers seem to go unanswered and life doesn't unfold as we hoped, these doubts can creep in.

Here's what's important to understand: there's a place for wrestling, but there's danger in sinful doubting.

Genuine wrestling says, "God, I don't know how You're going to work this out, but I trust that You will." Sinful doubting says, "God, I don't think You can work this out."

Wrestling honors God because it approaches Him with questions while maintaining faith. Sinful doubting dishonors God because it questions His character and ability.

Think about Jacob in the Old Testament, who literally wrestled with God through the night. God didn't punish Jacob for wrestling - He blessed him and gave him a new name. Wrestling with God is actually a sign of a healthy relationship. It shows you're engaged with Him, even when you don't understand.

But sinful doubt is different. Sinful doubt says, "I know better than You do, God. I've decided this is impossible, and I don't think You're powerful enough to change it."

When Zechariah encountered Gabriel, an angel of overwhelming power and might, he essentially said, "I don't think God can do this." That's why he faced consequences that Mary didn't.

But here's what's beautiful about God's grace: even Zechariah's sinful doubt wasn't the end of the story. During those ten months of silence, God worked in his heart. When Zechariah could finally speak again at his son's birth, he burst into praise and worship.

If God had made you mute for ten months, what would be the first thing out of your mouth when you could speak again?

Anger? Frustration? Complaints about how unfair it was?

Not Zechariah. The first words out of his mouth were worship and declarations about God's faithfulness. What happened during those months of silence transformed his doubt into faith, his cynicism into praise.

Sometimes God allows us to go through seasons of silence - times when we don't hear from Him clearly, when answers don't come quickly, when we feel like we're waiting in the dark. These seasons can feel strange and uncomfortable to us.

But what feels strange to us is often central to how God works. Silence, uncertainty, and waiting aren't accidents - they're often the very places where God does His deepest work in our hearts.

The question for us is: Are we wrestling or are we doubting? Are we saying, "God, I don't understand how, but I trust You," or are we saying, "God, I don't think You can"?

That distinction makes all the difference in how we experience these difficult seasons. On the final day of this plan, we'll consider how God brings an answer to our questions.