Your Prayer Has Been Heard - The Warrior's Journey®
Devotionals

Your Prayer Has Been Heard

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“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 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.’” (Luke 1:11-13) 

“Your prayer?” Which prayer? The angel Gabriel referred to Zechariah’s prayer that God would give him a son. Yet, when we read-on through verses 18-20 – we see that Zechariah didn’t believe Gabriel’s words. Evidently, he hadn’t prayed this prayer for a long time. He had long ago resigned himself that he would remain childless.   

I can’t really blame Zechariah. Disappointment had followed disappointment. As a Levitical priest he knew that others expected him and his wife to raise up the next generation of priests.  And their failure to do so, would have made others wonder if there was some secret sin or blemish in their lives. For “children are a heritage from the LORD; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Psalm 127:3-5). Since this blessing from God was so conspicuously absent from Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s lives, others probably concluded they must have been under God’s curse. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both righteous in the sight of God (Luke 1:6), if not in man’s eyes. And God’s opinion is all that matters. 

But think of how painful it must have been for them. At every gathering, where fathers and mothers boasted of their children’s achievements, Zechariah and his wife could only listen with envy. I suspect they’d have to escape to a corner at such gatherings to avoid lectures on how they need to “get busy” having children. But no children came. Heartbreak followed disappointment. So, somewhere along the journey, Zechariah stopped praying and concluded he would die childless. No, I can’t blame him one bit. 

But the amazing thing is that God never forgot Zechariah’s prayers. They were forever registered in heaven. And God had every intention of answering them – but in His own time.  Old prayers remind me of some of the old work orders I submitted for the repair and renovation of various Army chapels. After a while, I’d forget about them. Then, years after I submitted the work order, a work crew would show up at the chapel to do the work I’d requested. The request hadn’t been lost or forgotten. So it is with our prayers. God never forgets them. How fitting that Zechariah’s name means, “The LORD remembers.” 

REFLECTION  

  • Have you become discouraged in your prayers, doubting they ever reach God? 
  • Are God’s delays really denials? Or, could God simply be operating by His own time schedule, waiting for the optimal time to answer your prayers? 
  • Keep on praying. Your every prayer is logged in heaven. God will answer. 

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