And there was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
– Luke 2:36–38
I love this picture. Here is Anna, this prophetess who has been every day and every night coming to the temple. Giving thanks to God, praising God, worshiping God, praying, and fasting faithfully all these years. She’s 84 years old. And this is the day when Jesus is at the temple and she sees what she’s been waiting for all these years, the redemption of God’s people in the flesh in this baby boy. You just think about 84 years of waiting and worshiping and praying and fasting, and I am freshly encouraged in my life today in ways that I find myself waiting.
Luke 2:36–38 encourages us to endure in faith.
And I’m guessing you find yourself waiting. There are things that are unresolved in your life, areas of your life, for my life that you long for restoration and you long for an end to certain circumstances. You long for healing of hurts and pains and sorrows. You long for freedom from anxieties or discouragements. I don’t know what it may be that you may be waiting for, but I just want to encourage you based on this picture of Anna, to keep worshiping, to keep praying, and to keep trusting.
I just think about her doing this day after day after day, and this was not the day. This was not the day. This was not the day. But then one day, the day came. All who were waiting for redemption got to see Jesus. The reality is all who wait on God will see his redemption, and will see his restoration. I was just praying this today. God bring about the restoration of all things, bring about the end of sin and sorrow and suffering and death. And that day is indeed coming for all who look to Jesus.
Luke 2:36–38 encourages us to wait patiently.
And so we pray. God help us to wait patiently. God, we confess we are not good at waiting. I’m not good at waiting. And yet God, you have shown yourself fully trustworthy. God, we trust your promises, your purposes, your plans that are all coming to pass. And so we say we wait on you. We hope in you. We pray, oh God, we pray for redemption and restoration and we pray for healing and peace and end to suffering and different circumstances that we’re walking through that we see happening in people’s lives around us. God, we pray for that with trust in you and trust in your timing and trust that you are working all these things together for good and that one day we’re actually going to see what Anna saw, but even in greater ways that we’re going to see the face of Jesus.
And we are going to be free from all sin and sorrow and suffering and death forever and ever and ever, from all the effects of sin in this fallen world forever and ever and ever. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. We long for your return. We long to see your face and we pray that like Anna you would help us to be faithful in worship and waiting in prayer and fasting and longing and obeying you faithfully.
Prayer for the Muslim Thai People
God, we pray for that. We pray knowing that you have not returned. You tell us in your Word you are longing for more people to trust in you.
So God, we join with you in that longing. We pray for the spread of the gospel to people all around the world, all around us. God, we pray specifically for the Muslim Thai people who live in Thailand, this mainly Buddhist country, but over 1.3 million Muslims who have little to no knowledge of the gospel in Thailand. Lord, we pray for Muslim Thai people to be reached with your redemption through Jesus. God, we pray for that, for their sake, for the sake of all the peoples of the world, for the sake of people around us today. God help us to wait with worship and prayer and fasting and hope just like Anna did and lived too. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
