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

Have you ever prayed about something for so long that you started to wonder if God was even listening? Have you ever carried a burden so long that you began to question whether God really cared? That was Zechariah’s condition when he had a shocking day during his work in the temple.

When the angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple, the first thing he said was, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard." (Luke 1:13 CSB)

I want you to notice something important: the angel said "your prayer" - singular. However, when you examine the message the angel delivered, it becomes clear that Zechariah had actually been praying for two things: a son and the Messiah.

Zechariah had been praying for a son for decades. The text tells us that both he and Elizabeth were "well along in years." (Luke 1:7 CSB) If you were to paint them, they'd have white hair and wrinkles. They were elderly, well beyond natural childbearing years, and they had never been able to have children.

Infertility is incredibly difficult today, but it was even harder in biblical times. It wasn't just the emotional pain the couple experienced - there was enormous social shame attached to it. In that culture, having children, especially sons, was seen as a blessing from God. If you couldn't have children, people assumed God was displeased with you.

Not having a male heir meant that your family line would die with you. Your name and legacy would be forgotten. This was considered one of the worst things that could happen to a family.

Yet here we see that terrible things happen to very good people. The scripture describes Zechariah and Elizabeth as "righteous in God's sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord." (Luke 1:8 CSB) They were good people who loved God, yet they experienced this devastating disappointment year after year.

Zechariah was also praying for a Messiah. As a priest, he served in the temple two weeks out of the year. On this particular day, he was chosen by lot to enter the holy place and burn incense - something that would likely happen only once in his entire life.

The incense represented the prayers of the people, and everyone was outside praying. What were they praying for? Scholars tell us they were likely praying for deliverance, awaiting the arrival of the promised Messiah.

You see, they were living under King Herod, a corrupt, narcissistic ruler who had been placed on the throne by the oppressive foreign occupation of the Romans. The religious leaders were more concerned with politics than with God. It was not a peaceful or easy time.

These people understood weariness. They knew what it felt like to pray and pray and see no answer. They knew disappointment and discouragement.

Zechariah had been carrying these two prayer burdens for years: the personal pain of childlessness and the national pain of oppression. Month after month, year after year, decade after decade, he brought these concerns to God.

The beautiful thing about this story is that God had been listening the entire time. Every prayer Zechariah prayed, every tear he and Elizabeth shed, every moment of disappointment they experienced - God saw it all and was working even when they couldn't see it.

Sometimes the very thing we're weary of - the waiting, the silence, the unanswered questions - is actually the place where God is preparing to do something incredible.

Tomorrow, we'll see how God answered both of Zechariah's prayers, but not in the way he expected.