Morning by Morning, December 16, 2024 - "Your Prayer Has Been Heard!" Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with my Father, One with the Holy Spirit. Come be One within me today, I pray (John 17:21). ... "But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard!" (Luke 1:13) Zechariah and Elizabeth longed to have a child. And like every mother and father, they longed for their child to make a difference and leave a legacy in this world. But "Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years" (v. 7). So they prayed. Maybe they had prayed for a child a long time ago and had given up. Or maybe something inside their hearts just wouldn’t let them give up until they saw their prayers come to pass. Maybe their prayers were bigger than their own hopes and dreams; maybe their prayers would be a part of the hopes and dreams of a people who were longing for the coming of something greater than themselves in fulfillment of the purposes of God. So even as Zechariah was "serving as priest before God" with the high honor of being chosen to "enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense," he continued to offer up to You the deepest prayer of his own heart (v. 9). And after all that time, after all that persistence, You answered! You sent Your angel to speak to his heart that You heard his prayers. He and Elizabeth would have their child, their miraculous birth they had longed to see before they passed from this world. They would have a son; and he would have significance. You encouraged them and blessed them through the angel: "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord!" (v. 15) Even before his birth, their son, John -- the one we now call “John the Baptist” -- would be "filled with the Holy Spirit;" and he would "turn many people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he (would) go before (You), to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (v. 15-17). No doubt this was a measure of the fulfillment of Your Word through the prophet Isaiah, spoken centuries before: "Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the Lord!" (Isaiah 54:1). Thank You for answering Zachariah and Elizabeth's prayer. Thank You for giving birth to the one who would "prepare the way of the Lord" (Luke 3:4 fulfilling Isaiah 40:3). You put that prayer in their hearts for them to pray, along with the persevering faith to continue to pray until it came to pass. You are the God who declares, "I Am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you.... All your fruit comes from Me" (Hosea 14:8). Put Your prayers in my heart to accomplish Your purposes through my life. Give me the grace to persevere in faith until I see it come to pass — all in Your time and all in Your way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you persevere in faith and prayer until the answer of the Lord comes for you in the passionate prayers He has put on your heart to pray, in Jesus' name, Amen. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!
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Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries 502 North Milam Street Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
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