“ZECHARIAH’S ANSWERED PRAYER” Luke 1:5-17
FBCF – 12/7/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Laine Kiffin last wk. Lots of strong feelings felt. Lots of strong opinions voiced. Lots of strong words spoken. Some of you already had feelings stir up inside you as soon as you heard his name. Be clear: I’m not taking sides today – just using that situation that took the college football world by storm last week as a jumping off point today to get us thinking about some things that are a lot more important than college football. To prove I’m not taking sides (show socks).
Lots of folks wanting their prayers answered last week:
- Some OM fans – “Lord, please let him stay.” Others: “Lord, please let him leave.”
- MSU fans – “Lord, please let us win the Egg Bowl.” (didn’t happen) “Lord, please let us win it again one day.” “Lord, please let us just get bowl eligible again one day.”
- Laine Kiffin: “Lord, please let me get out of here alive” as he left Oxford. Same prayer he’ll be praying on Sat nights in Tiger Stadium when he loses a game.
- Southern Miss fans: “Lord, thank you that we didn’t go 1-11 again this year!”
Don’t know how much God cares about college football or about who wins the Egg Bowl or any other game for that matter. But I do know that He cares about His children & hears us when we cry out to Him in prayer.
EXPLANATION – Luke 1:5-17 (855)
Going to be in Luke 1 & 2 for next 3 wks.
- “Zechariah’s Answered Prayer” today
- “Mary’s Assignment” next week
- “The Angel’s Announcement” on the 21st
Gospel of Luke – One of the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, & Luke. Word “synoptic” lit means “together sight.” These 1st 3 books of NT are called the Synoptic Gospels b/c they “see together w/ a common view.” All 3 tell the story of Jesus’ earthly life & ministry covering many of the same events in Jesus’ life. Nearly 90% of the material in Mark’s Gospel is found in Matthew, & about 50% of Mark is found in Luke’s Gospel. John’s Gospel is not a synoptic Gospel b/c he did not write his Gospel as a chronological narrative of Jesus’ life but to display the deity of Jesus.
Luke was a Gentile & was a physician, which likely explains why his Gospel is very detailed. It’s been called the most beautiful book ever written as it takes the reader through Jesus’ life & emphasizes His love & compassion for all people, & the forgiveness & salvation He offers to all people.
Early on in Luke, we are introduced to Zechariah & Elizabeth. He was a priest in the temple & would serve 2 times a year, a week each time. In v. 8 – “his division was on duty” which was a high honor. But v. 9 tells us that “he was chosen by lot to enter the temple & burn incense.” This was an even higher once-in-a-lifetime honor. And in The Holy Place, he had a once-in-a-lifetime experience that changed him forever. The angel Garbriel appeared on the right side of the altar of incense & gave him some good news that he longed to hear: God had heard his prayer & his wife was going to have a son who would be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.
APPLICATION – God answers the prayers of His children.
Establish that truth in your heart right now: God answers the prayers of His children. Answers in 1 of 3 ways: Yes – No – Not right now (maybe hardest) – “Trusting God means trusting His timing. When the door stays closed…When the healing doesn’t come…When the silence is deafening, it doesn’t always mean ‘No.’ Sometimes, God is simply saying, ‘Not yet…Grow first…I have better. He’s not late. He’s just working behind the scenes.” (https://www.facebook.com/TLonFB/posts/you-pray-but-gods-answer-isnt-always-yes-sometimes-its-not-yet-or-i-have-better/1250772780423062/)
Matthew 7:11 – “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.” (NLT) Since we know that God wants to answer the prayers of His children, let’s talk about some ingredients we need to have in our prayer life:
POSITION – v. 6-7 – Z & E “were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments & statutes of the Lord”” – in other words, their position before the Lord was a position of righteousness. They were faithful, elderly followers of the Lord. This doesn’t mean that they were sinless, but that they conscientiously lived according to the Law of the Lord. Their lack of children was not due to sin but was part of God’s “not yet” answer to their prayers for a child. “God often brings or allows suffering in the lives of His people for His glorious purposes & for our sanctification” (Tony Evans).
Your position of righteousness before the Lord does not exempt you from trouble & pain. But it does guarantee that the presence & peace of God will be w/ you in your pain as He works behind the scenes of your life. Like Z & E, if you know Christ, you ARE righteous – made right before God. And like Z & E, you & I need to strive to live righteously, obediently, & faithfully.
PETITION – v. 13 – Z had a petition – a specific petition that he had brought to the Lord – that he & E would be able to have a child. V. 13 – Gabriel “Your prayer has been heard &…E will bear you a son…” How wonderful it is when God “shows up & shows out” in answering our specific requests!
Can I ask you a very practical question? Do you keep a written prayer list? On your phone or in a journal – but do you have a prayer list w/ specific requests on it for specific needs & specific people? Can I encourage you to do that if you’re not doing it right now? So amazing to go back & see God’s hand at work!
PERSISTENCE – While it does not say this specifically, I’ve got a feeling that Z & E probably prayed a lot for that baby. They didn’t know that about 30 yrs later, Jesus would teach His disciples to “pray & not give up” (Luke 18:1). Didn’t know that there would be a guy named Paul – “Pray w/out ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) – “Be…persistent in prayer (Rom. 12:12) – Probably did know Ps. 116:2 – “…I will pray as long as I have breath.” Persistence is so important in our prayer life.
TEXTED RACHEL: Tell me what your prayer life was like when you & Wesley were trying to get pregnant & couldn’t & you miscarried. Describe your prayer then.
I feel like there were phases to my prayer life. When I realized it had been over two years and no baby, I was praying out of total confusion. Why me? What’s wrong with me? What did I do wrong?
Losing my baby. Angry even though my prayers were always with full confidence that God was with me through it all. Still confused. There are people having babies everywhere except me. My baby is in heaven before I could even hold her/him. Which then turned into desperation and then into full surrender. Like on my knees in full on tears constantly. I knew He was trying to get my attention for something big.
My full surrender is when I found and read Hebrews 10:23 literally over and over – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (NIV)
PEOPLE & PLACE – V. 10 – “…the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.” The people of God gathered TOGETHER to pray at a specific place, the temple. Not implying that the people outside were praying for Z & E to have a baby – could have been – might have been. But the point is that they were all gathered together at the place of prayer – “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Luke 19:46).
You need people & you need a place – people in your life who pray for you. And this place in your life, this house of prayer.
PRAISE (v. 64) – eulogeo – “to speak well of.” When God answers – no matter how He answers – give Him praise. That’s exactly what Z did when that baby boy was born! When “his tongue loosed”, he didn’t complain about not being able to talk for 9 months – didn’t start talking about the score of the latest Univ of Jerusalem football game – didn’t start barking orders at Eliz or asking the neighbors & relatives how they were doing. When he SAW the blessing of God as his son came into the world, he immediately spoke about the Lord & to the Lord. He gave Him praise…gave Him glory…gave Him honor…gave Him credit. Reminds me of great hymn, “To God Be the Glory”: “PTL, PTL, let the earth hear His voice. PTL, PTL, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, & give Him the glory, great things He has done!”
CONCLUSION – Name, “Zechariah” – “Yahweh has remembered again.” – Maybe you need a Zech moment today – Need to be reminded that God will remember you again as you keep crying out to Him in prayer. So do that now. What do you need to pray about right now in your life? God will remember your as you…
- Pray to be saved
- Pray for physical, emotional, relational, spiritual healing
- Pray for addiction to be broken, strongholds to be torn down in your life
- Pray for obedience to God’s call on your life
- Men: Pray that you will be the man of God you’re called to be – spiritual leader in your family – love your wife as Christ loves the Church – love & lead your kids – set the example for them to follow
