Zacharias' Personal Prayer Life

On this grand day, this eve of Christmas Eve, as we stand on the second step before we celebrate Advent Day, we come together, whoever we are and wherever we are. I don’t know what your feelings are, what your situation is like, or how inclined you have been during the past days to feel any excitement at all, about the day chosen to be celebrated as Advent Day, nevertheless, this I do know. The same Jesus whose First Coming brought all the lights which have been illuminated for us this past week, is still with us to be our Help. His Holy Spirit is present and if any of us is in any need, He puts prayer in our very breath.

At the end of our previous offering, there was a word of encouragement and charge to all who were unsure of themselves being priests in the sight of God. The charge was to never ever go against God’s Word and the encouragement for all who were finding it nigh impossible to be whom God says they must be, to pray. Pray, as God the Holy Spirit Himself makes prayer alive and causes it to thrive in us. It is with the power of the Holy Spirit, we unworthy, carnal beings are able to pray with fervent, honest, simple words, sighs, and tears even, for God will hear and acknowledge each prayer. 

As a priest, Zacharias discharged his duties well, faithful to his calling and obedient to the Lord. Being his allotted time, as priest serving before God, in the order of his division, he had to burn incense in the temple of the Lord. Zacharias was in there serving, when an angel appeared to him and really gave him a jolt, which made him troubled and afraid. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Like 1: 13

Is this not interesting that the angel is the one who reveals about the personal prayer life of the priest? When he told Zacharias that his prayer was heard and answered, this alerted us to the heart and mind of the priest. Zacharias is a man of prayer, for it is what his work, his serving is all about. As priest he prays for all people without distinction or exclusion. Yet he is human, with human needs, just like the people to whom he has dedicated his life to serve. This priest of God does not negate his own need of prayer, put it aside, or live in pretension about it. He prays for himself as he prays for others.

I really do not know whether the angel was speaking of a prayer uttered by Zacharias at that moment, concerning a son, when he said, your prayer is heard. Truth be told, I believe that Zacharias was praying all his life, that one prayer for a child and perhaps had stopped praying because for him and his wife, it was obviously too late.

I ask you honestly, as great a faith as you may have, if you have been asking God for a child since you were young and continued daily to ask, year in and year out, as the deep desire of your heart, until you were well advanced in years, would you still be asking? I think not. This is given even more clarity and weight, when we listen to the angel giving this information to Mary. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age. Luke 1: 36a. If Elizabeth is described as old in age by the heavenly being, then Zacharias, must be even older.

I believe that the angel was speaking of a prayer which Zacharias had prayed all his married life, when they realized that Elizabeth was barren. I also believe that it was no longer an openly prayed prayer, but it was a prayer held buried deep within his heart, stuck to his heart, a quiet and peaceful resignation to God’s not giving them a child. In other words, this was no longer opportune prayer, this was prayer, shrouded, mummified, sweetly and sincerely kept in a tightly closed chamber of the heart. Unanswered prayer, that which Zacharias, kept sound and safe, as dead, but eternally dear to his heart.

Here it is, while this priest of God is faithfully discharging his duty, to burn the incense, as the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense, Luke 1: 10, that the angel of God enters the temple and stands beside the priest. We must note, with the Holy Spirit’s enlightening of this word, that God did not send his angel, to come to earth to Zacharias, in closed quarters, to assist him with the incense lighting and burning. He was sent to re-light, reignite a fire in God’s priest, which had gone out. It was during the timely, ordained, lawful burning of incense that God chose to burn away, in the heart of His servant, who walked righteously before Him, the darkness and pain of dead hope. God, through His angel, lit the bright light of hope in Zacharias as only God can. 

Who is our God! Even when the natural says, no way, the Supernatural announces, give way. As you receive every Word transformation, which has been offered through Zacharias’ personal prayer life, may you so be rekindled in some hope which you have buried within you, that all you can do and be is die before your wonder working God and give all of you to Him.