Don't Be Afraid, God has heard your prayer

Have you ever heard of F.B. Meyer? He was a British baptist pastor in the mid to late 1800’s and a friend of D.L. Moody. While crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner, F.B. Meyer was asked to address the first class passengers. At the captain’s request he spoke on “Answered Prayer.” An agnostic - someone who believes that nothing about the supernatural can be known - who was present at the service, was asked by his friends, “What did you think of Dr. Meyer’s sermon?” He answered, “I didn’t believe a word of it.” That afternoon Meyer went to speak to the fourth class passengers. Many of the listeners at his morning address went along, including the agnostic, who claimed he just wanted to hear “what the babbler had to say.” 

Before starting for the service, the agnostic put two oranges in his pocket. On his way he passed an elderly woman sitting in her deck chair fast asleep. Her hands were open. In the spirit of fun, the agnostic put the two oranges in her outstretched palms. After the meeting, he saw the old lady happily eating one of the pieces of fruit. “You seem to be enjoying that orange,” he remarked with a smile.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, “My Father is very good to me.”

“Your father? Surely your father can’t be still alive!”

“Praise God,” she replied, “He is very much alive.”

“What do you mean?” pressed the agnostic.

She explained, “I’ll tell you, sir. I have been seasick for days. I was asking God somehow to send me an orange. I suppose I fell asleep while I was praying. When I awoke, I found He had not only sent me one orange but two!”

The agnostic was speechless.

What is prayer like for you? I ask because our teaching series for advent this year is called “Don’t be afraid” and I believe that fear and prayer go hand in hand. If it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about. But most of us are great at worrying and weak at praying because fear is natural and faith is not. Faith is that determined belief that overcomes our natural feelings. It’s belief that God is for us and that he is with us. And if we believe that God is for us, then that should drive us to take our fears and through prayer, give them to God and trust him with the outcomes.

So, what is prayer like for you? Research shows that close to 80% of people in North America pray at some point. That means that most people, no matter what kind of God they believe in or don’t believe in, pray at some point. Some pray that God would provide and care for them, like the woman who received the oranges. Some people pray in anger because they feel God took someone from them. Some people pray in desperation that God would change a circumstance. Some pray with gratitude because a situation did change. Some people pray hard that they won’t get a ticket when they get pulled over for speeding. Some pray earnest prayers of thanksgiving because they didn’t get that ticket. When you pray, what do you pray for most often?

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Can we honest for a second? Prayer is a little weird. I know, I’m a pastor and I’m not supposed to say such things. But honestly, it is. To many people, their experience of prayer is to maybe close their eyes and talk out loud in a weird way that we wouldn’t use to talk to anyone else. Some people pray like they are writing a letter or a journal entry, for some reason. Dear God, thank you for today. I hope tomorrow’s thing goes well. Bless this food to our bodies. In Jesus name, amen. Like, where did we get the idea of this formal, heartless one-way form of speaking to God? I would never talk to my wife like that - come home from being out and say ,”Dear Abby, thank you for making supper. I hope your day was good. Please help me put the children to bed. In our Rebekah’s name, I agree (that’s what “amen” means, btw).

Prayer can feel awkward, especially if you are around other people, and it can feel pointless, like the prayer leaves our lips and evaporates in the air. But that’s where faith comes in. Prayer requires us to have faith that we aren’t just talking out loud, but that we are talking with (not just to) God himself. The author of Hebrews puts it like this:

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

To seek God, whether it is to seek his intervention, his presence or his forgiveness means that we have to have some faith, or else we wouldn’t bother at all. I don’t know what your experience with prayer is, but for some people, even with faith, sometimes it may feel like God doesn’t hear their prayers, or that he doesn’t care. Has that been your experience? If so, I want to share with you a story today from the Bible that shows that God hears our prayers, that God answers our prayers and that God disarms our doubts.

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Luke 1:5–25 ESV

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

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]I love this story. I love that God shows his power in it. I love that God shows his grace in it. I love that God’s plan for redemption involves seniors like Zechariah and Elizabeth and teenagers like Mary. But today, I really want us to focus in on the angel’s interaction with Zechariah and the first thing we see is that God heard Zechariah’s prayer

God heard Zechariah’s Prayer

Is anyone here into incense? Or maybe the “Christian” equivalent, “essential oils”? The closest we get at my house are either some apple cinnamon candles or ocean breeze air freshners in the bathroom which we use to cover a multitude of sins. But incense was used in the worship of God for thousands of years.

Going all the way back to the time of Moses, the priests would burn incense twice a day on an altar that was right in front of the curtain that separated everyone from the Holy of Holies, which was the most sacred space in the tabernacle. The tabernacle was the portable tent where they would worship God before the temple was built. After Solomon built the temple, the altar of incense was placed in the same location as it was in the tabernacle, right in front of the curtain that separated the room into two.

The incense was representative of the prayers of the people. As the incense burned and the smoke rose, it symbolized the prayers rising up towards God. So for Zechariah, as he burned this incense, he would be in deep prayer.

What was he praying for? A quick look might make us think that he was praying for a son. I’m not so sure. We don’t know for certain what he was praying for but because of the honor of the task before him and the self-realization that both he and his wife were past that time where having kids was concievable, I think he was praying for Israel, his nation. He may have been confessing Israel’s sin and he pleading with God to redeem Israel from its enemies. And God heard his prayer.

I’m sure that, as a priest whose walk was blameless, who was righteous, Zechariah had prayed before. He most likely would have prayed for years for a child and didn’t answer. But Zechariah was faithful and that there is a good lesson for us: Just because we go through a season where it seems like God doesn’t hear our prayers, it doesn’t mean that we should abandon God, as if he were accountable to us in some way, as if He owed us something.

But that is what many people do. They don’t feel like God has heard their prayers and in their anger and fear, they shake their fists at him and walk away. But Zechariah wasn’t like that. Although God had not answered his prayers for a child for decades, Zechariah always remained faithful to God.And then, on this day, when Zechariah was praying and offering incense an angel shows up and says, “Do not be afraid, your prayers have been heard.”

Don’t be afraid of what’s going on politically, God hears our prayers. Don’t be afraid of what’s going on with COVID, God hears our prayers. Don’t be afraid of what’s going with your kids, your siblings, your friends, your job, your parents - God hears our prayers. In the midst of mess, God is reaching out to us today to remind us that we don’t have to be afraid because God hears your prayers. He is listening.

The apostle John puts it like this:

1 John 5:14–15 NLT

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

So, pray. Talk to God. Move past the letter-writing format of “Dear God” and really talk to Him. Tell him about your fears and ask him to fill you with faith. Tell him about your anger and invite him to fill you with peace. Confess your indifference and allow him to fill your hearts with love. Ask for his help in whatever it is you are doing, whether it is in parenting, or in being a strong witness to the transforming work of Jesus at your job, or in saying no to your friends who inadvertenly want to distract you from following God. Just talk with God because the story of Zechariah reminds us that God hears us.

In addition to just hearing his prayer though, God answered Zechariah’s prayer.

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God answered Zechariah’s Prayer

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus are declared righteous in God’s sight, and therefore our prayers are powerful and effective. James follows up this declaration with a reminder from the old testament where the prophet Elijah, who was just as broken and messed up as we are, prayed for a drought and there was no rain for 3 years. Then he prayed for rain, and the rain came. God answers prayer.

But how God answers varies with the request. Because we usually pray for the things we want, not the things God wants, sometimes the answer is No, just how a loving parent will say no to their two year old when they ask to get a permanent paw patrol tattoo on their lower back. Sometimes no is the most loving thing God can say to us.

Sometimes, God tells us to wait, because the timing isn’t right. We may have to grow a little first in order to properly handle it, or maybe because God wants to use somone else to answer your prayer, you have to wait for them. There can be lots of reasons that the best thing for you and/or others is to have the answer delayed.

And sometimes, like the woman with the oranges or with the prophet Elijah, God answers your prayer right when you need him to. And because all three responses of No, Not Yet, and Yes come from God’s love for you and for others, we can trust God and let go of our fears.

The Apostle Peter, quoting the prophet Isaiah says this:

1 Peter 2:6 NIV

For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Jesus is the cornerstone that God has laid who is chosen to be the instrument of our salvation and who is precious and if we trust in Him, we will never be put to shame, no matter the consequences. Because God, in accordance with his will and in his timing, answered Zechariah’s prayers for the salvation of Israel, and by extention the whole world, we can trust that God will, in accordance with his will and in his timing, answer our prayers as well. And like the prophet Gandalf says, “that is a an encouraging thought.”

So in our story, we see that God heard Zechariah’s prayer, and he answered his prayer. But this IS an angelic encounter claiming that God will do a miracle. Zechariah, understandably has some doubts. And so God disarms Zechariah’s doubt.

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God disarms Zechariah’s Doubt

Is doubt inherently a bad thing? Not necessarily. Doubt, if aimed properly, can lead to exploration and learning which can actually deepen faith. The major problem is when doubt just festers with no where to go. That’s when it becomes toxic and can lead people astray. In fact, I don’t trust the person who doesn’t have some doubts about something. Supreme confidence in everything is the hallmark of arrogance and pride and according to James, Jesus’ half brother, who quotes the Old Testament book of proverbs,

James 4:6 NIV

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

In our narrative about the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Zechariah, Zechariah responds to the angel’s bold prophecy with a question.

Luke 1:18 NIV

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

There is something about the way that Zechariah frames his question - something in his tone, in his attitude, in his heart that is more than just curiousity as how it will happen but is rebellious doubt - a doubt that pushes away from God, not into him. And this doubt comes with consequences

Luke 1:19–20 NIV

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

God could have punished Zechariah for his unbelief in a variety of ways, not the least being he could have rejected Zechariah and Elizabeth and John would have been born to other parents. But God is still the God of grace and he acts in grace to disarm Zechariah’s doubt. Instead of death, rejection, or pain, he simply mutes him, which may have been a gracious blessing to Elizabeth. She would have gotten to enjoy almost a year without any arguments or criticisms from her husband, which may have aided in conception, I’m just saying. But mostly, I think the mutism was a act of grace because there was no way for it to be chalked up to coincidence since it was instantaneous and persistent and therefore it disarmed his doubt.

We know it disarmed his doubt because when the baby was born, Zechariah went against culture and tradition and insisted, by writing it down, that his name be John and in so doing, God gave him his voice back.

Most people have some doubts - I know I do. And fear can cause us to try to stifle our doubts but that just lets them fester. Our God is so gracious that he doesn’t reject us when we doubt, but provides ways for us to overcome our doubt and deepen our faith. He provides us with teachers and books so we can broaden our understanding. He provides us friends that we can talk to about our doubts. He provides the Holy Spirit who, according to Jesus,

John 16:13 NIV

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

God disarmed Zechariah’s doubts by graciously giving him a sign to prove that God was going to do what he promised. God disarms our doubts in a variety of ways, if only we would take advantage of them and allow our doubts to propel us closer to God, rather than farther away from Him.

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There is so much to be afraid of. But if it’s worth worrying about, it’s worth praying about and in prayer we can find a peace that passes all understanding because God hears our prayers, answers our prayers and even disarms our doubts. So this advent, take all your fears, all your worries, all your burdens to God in prayer.

Let’s pray.