THE PRAYER OF ZACHARIAS: Luke 1:13
I was reading and studying in Luke today. My attention was
on the appearance of the angel to Zacharias in the temple (Luke 1:13) and its
context. He was told by the angel that “your
petition has been heard.” The natural question is what prayer? The natural
assumption is a prayer for a child, since the answer is bound up in the
announcement he and Elizabeth will have a child. However, the text does not
reveal the subject of the prayer, but only the fact of the prayer.
Things to consider are:
(1) The word prayer is singular. It refers to a specific
prayer.
(2) It is doubtful at their age they would be praying for a
child (cf. 1:7). Zacharias’ own words seem to rule out that he was praying for
a child (1:18). The statement indicates he was beyond hope of having a child.
Why would he be praying for something he did not believe would happen?
(3) It could be a prayer that he was praying at the time of
the appearance of the angel.
(4) It is doubtful that he would be as a consecrated priest
praying for his own interest and not that of the people.
(5) Evening prayers centered upon the nation and its hope.
There is no question that “the answer to the prayer is bound
up with the birth of a son to Zacharias.”[1]
Therefore, many believe the angel’s appearance was a result of a prayer that Zacharias
was praying at the altar, and that the subject of the prayer was the hope of Israel in the
coming of Messiah. It seems in answering the nation’s prayer “God was tackling
two problems at once. He was dealing with something absent from Zechariah’s
personal life, while dealing with Israel ’s prayer and plea. God’s
answers sometimes come at a surprising time, in a surprising place, and in a
surprising way.”[2] Thus,
Zacharias and Elizabeth’s role in the redemption of Israel was an act of grace.
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