36 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 ⌊after her marriage⌋, 37 and herself as a widow up to eighty-four years) who did not
depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day.
38 And at that same hour she approached and* began to give thanks to God,
and to speak about him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of
Jerusalem.
Ministry of
Prayer
As we begin
a New Year, one area that God has been speaking to me about is the area of
prayer, both individual and corporate prayer.
The ministry of prayer is for all believers and is critical for our
spiritual growth as well as the impact of our ministries.
Anna is
given to us as an example of a woman who was dedicated to both prayer and
fasting. She was on a 24 hour prayer
schedule in the temple. Her prayers were
in part for the redemption of Israel and the manifestation of the promised
Messiah. When Jesus was presented at the
temple when he was 8 days old, she was there and recognized that he was the
fulfillment of the promises of the Messiah.
She was from
the tribe of Asher. Deuteronomy 33:24-25 is a prophecy about the tribe
And of Asher he
said:
Most blessed of sons be Asher;
may he be the favorite of his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in oil.
Your bars are iron
and bronze;
and
as your days, so is your strength.
Asher was
favored. The anointing of oil is symbolic of joy and happiness and the iron and
bronze symbolized strength.
Anna had all
of these characteristics in her life.
She was
anointed by the Holy Spirit as a prayer warrior and one who heard the voice of
the Spirit. She declared the prophetic words given by the Holy Spirit to all
who were in the temple.
She was at
least 84 years old but was strong enough to continue to pray day and
night. She was remembered by Luke as an
encouragement to all women regardless of their age that they have an important
ministry. Unfortunately women were not
regarded as very important in the Jewish culture but Luke made sure that she
was acknowledged for her ministry.
Anna’s name
means “favor, grace”. In Hebrew her name meant to bow or bend in kindness and
find and show favor.
God’s favor
and grace were demonstrated to her by rewarding her in her old age with being
able to see the Messiah. Her years of
prayer and fasting were rewarded in the fulfillment of the greatest desire she
had of being able to see the Messiah.
Anna’s prayer
life is marked by three important characteristics that are examples to us.
Her prayer
life was consistent, constant and involved two way communication.
Consistent
Prayer for
many is not very consistent. Some days
prayers are offered but other days they are neglected. Prayer must become a discipline in our lives
in order for it to be consistent. Set
times of prayer are important because it helps us focus our mind and set aside
time to be able to pray. John Wesley’s
mother set aside a specific time every day to pray. Her children knew that when she sat in her
chair in the kitchen a put a cloth over her head that is was her time of prayer
and she was not to be bothered. At times
it may be difficult to find a quiet place but we can do our best to shut off as
many disturbances as possible and not let other things invade our time of
prayer. Our time of prayer should become
habitual but we must always be careful that it does not become mechanical or
just going through the motions, repeating the same prayers.
Constant
Anna was a
prayer warrior day and night. Prayer
must become a lifestyle for us. We
should be ready to pray at any occasion or any time of the day or night. Paul is an example of one who prayed
constantly for the believers.
1 Thes.
3:9-10 9 For
what thanks can we repay to God concerning you, because of all the joy with which we rejoice because of you
before our God, 10 night
and day praying beyond all measure that we
may see your face and complete what is lacking in your faith?
Rom. 1:9-11 9 For
God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how
constantly I make mention of you, 10 always
asking in my prayers if somehow now at last I may succeed to come to you in the
will of God. 11 For
I desire to see you, in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, in
order to strengthen you,
Eph. 1.
15-16 15 Because
of this I also, hearing of ⌊your
faith⌋
in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do
not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers,
Col. 1:9 9 Because
of this also we, from the day we heard about it,* did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be
filled with the knowledge of his will
in all wisdom and spiritual insight
Paul
encouraged believers through his prayers for them that did not cease, he prayed
day and night for others. We should
always be ready to pray in every situation we face at any time of the day or
night. It should be almost like breathing, something that we do all the time
though we are not conscious of it. It
should be a natural part of our daily life, throughout the day that we pause
and pray when we are presented with situations that are brought to our
attention and need prayer. Often we see
a need or hear of a need but don’t stop to pray immediately for the person or
situation and as a result forget to pray. When you see an accident or witness
someone being mistreated, neglected etc. it is a great opportunity to pray for
the people involved. As you read the
news or watch it on TV it should be a call to pray a prayer for the
situation.
Two way Communication
Prayer
should be a conversation where we listen as well as speak to God. Anna was a prophetess which means she heard
from God and directed her prayers accordingly.
Listening to God is hard for most people. We like to talk more than listen and in our
times of prayer it can become the same.
Waiting on God in silence is uncomfortable for some people. We are so used to doing something that we get
nervous or feel agitated when there is silence.
We teach hearing God’s voice and it is part of the teaching on
intercessory prayer but do we truly practice it in our personal times of
prayer? It is easier to fill our prayer
time with petitions and requests and not open our spirits to receive words from
God.
Andrew
Murray has written a book on “The Prayer Life” and in it he gives an example of
how he approaches prayer.
1. Begin by thanking God for his great
love which invites you to come to him and freely talk to him. Thank him for the
assurance you have that he will bless your time of prayer. Thank him for the grace you have received and
the gift of the Holy Spirit who helps us in our weaknesses in prayer.
2. Read the Scriptures and apply what
you are reading to yourself. Ask God to
make his word light and power in your heart.
3. Be specific and thoughtful of your
prayer requests. Let your prayer be something definite, arising either out of
the word which you have read, or out of the real soul needs which you long to
have satisfied. Write down your
requests.
4. Pray for others, don’t be selfish.
Examples: church, pastor, fellow workers, missionaries, leaders in governments, education, families, media and the arts.
5. Keep the attitude of prayer with you
all day long. Prayer unites us with God.
When we sin we are drawn away from God and break the fellowship that
invites us to pray. Repentance,
confession and forgiveness will reestablish our fellowship. The time of prayer is intended to bind man to
God, to supply him with power from God, to enable him to live for God alone.
As we begin
a New Year let’s make prayer one of our priorities in our personal lives and in
our ministry. If we
believe in the power of prayer and the importance of prayer it should follow
that we spend time in meaningful prayer, individually and as a body of
believers. Time spent in prayer prepares us and prepares the way for our
ministry to be more effective. Andrew
Murray states in his book, that Prayerlessness is a sin as we are called to be
people of prayer. We do not pray because
we have to but we pray because we need to avail ourselves to all that God has
to offer us through prayer. Prayer
should not be viewed as an obligation but an invitation to connect with
God.
May our
prayer lives become consistent, constant and a two way communication throughout
this next year. May our time spent in prayer be one we anticipate each day and
reap all the benefits that God has in store for us as well as the people and
situations we present in prayer.
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