P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we will look at the character, Zechariah, and see the miracle that the Lord does in the womb of his barren wife
Together we will pray (P.R.A.Y.) each day – ‘P’: Pausing to be still as we come into the presence of the Lord. ‘R’: Rejoicing as we remember who our God is and what He has done, and Reflecting on His word. ‘A’: Asking God to help us and others. And ‘Y’: yielding to His will in accordance with His word.
As I come before you to pray, I still my thoughts and quiet my mind. I seek to make you the center of my focus.
Prayer of Approach
Lord, as you open your arms to receive me now, I open my heart and mind to receive your wisdom and instruction. Receive my praise and adoration, meager as they are, as a fragrant offering. Let fear flee from me at this moment as I share my deepest cares and concerns openly and honestly with you, lover of my soul.
-Mark Rosewell
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 84:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Psalm 84:5-8
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in Luke 1, where we read:
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon 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 call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Luke 1:5-25
All throughout Scripture we see God perform the miracle of taking a barren womb and filling it with life. Taking oftentimes a hopeless situation and filling it with hope. This was the case for Zechariah and Elizabeth. God hears their prayers and gives them a child. A child who will prepare the way of the Lord. A child with a mission on this earth.
The wild process of an angel appearing to Zechariah ends with him walking out of the Temple mute. On first reading, it seems like a rather extreme response from Gabriel to the simple question that Zechariah brought up. So why did this happen?
Zechariah is a priest of the Lord. He was raised in the tribe of Levi. He received the privilege of entering the temple. He would know the stories of the Lord opening the womb of Sarah and all of the women after her. He would have known the stories of a God who works miraculously. A God who has answered the prayers of his people over and over and over again. I don’t know what changed Zechariah’s heart. Maybe it was the years of waiting. At this moment Zechariah learned that God is God and he is not. That God can’t be boxed in or managed. That God is in control of all things even wombs. He gives life to those who he chooses and he chose to give Zechariah and Elizabeth, John. It is easy in the waiting during seasons of unanswered prayers for our hearts to forget who God is. God is a God who hears and when he chooses works supernaturally. In all of that, he is a God who can be trusted
Lord, I ask that you would sustain me in the waiting. I ask that you would revive the prayers of my heart that I long ago stopped praying.
1)Where am I waiting on God right now?
2)Are there any prayers that I have stopped praying and why did I stop?
3)Do any of those prayers need to be prayed again?
4)Where have I seen God move miraculously?
Lord, revive our hearts this Christmas season! Fill us with your Spirit that can sing wholeheartedly that a Savior was born in Bethlehem. Fix our eyes on the eternal Son of God who entered into time and space for a broken people. Let us see that salvation has come and we ask that your salvation would come to our families, workplaces, schools, and city once again.
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon 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 call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Luke 1:5-25
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I trust you. I surrender all control to you. In whatever season I find myself in would you renew my hope? Remind me of what you did for Elizabeth and reassure me that you hear my prayers.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Luke 1:25
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Luke 1:25
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I leave this time of intimacy with you now and go about my day. I ask that you will grant me peace beyond my understanding to face any challenges today. I ask for abundant grace that I may shower it upon everyone that I meet. And I ask for your Spirit to fill me that I may share You with someone that needs to hear from You today.
Mark Rosewell
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.