Wednesday, December 21 – Luke 1:12-13

Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.”

When Zechariah was confronted by the angel, he did not know what to expect. Like many in Scripture, the first words he received from the angel were words of comfort—“do not be afraid”—even in an overwhelming moment. The angel brought news regarding a matter that had been a prayer for Zechariah and Elizabeth for some time that remained unanswered.

Many of us have prayer requests so personal and weighty that they become almost painful to lift up to the Lord over and over. We start to question if God really does hear us, and these questions can lead to anxiety and worry. In God’s economy, our prayers do not have a shelf life; they do not have a limited time that He hears them and then after their expiration, discards them. Instead of worrying about the outcome, wondering if God will answer in the way we expect or not, we can trust that when we lift our prayers up to Him, they are in the best hands. Our heavenly Father has a proven track record: He hears His people! We remember in this Christmas season that He not only heard His people, but He took the next step to be with us, coming to earth and standing in our place as Immanuel—God with us. When our prayers are unanswered and we are tempted to fall into anxiety and fear, we can remember this moment in Zechariah’s life, the peace that came in God’s presence, and the answer that came to his prayer in a way he likely never expected.

• What are some prayer requests you have had to trust God with over a long period of time?
• How does God being with you change the way you view your circumstances?
• Pray and lift to God some of the prayer requests that remain unanswered in your life. Ask Him to help you trust Him with them today.